Catedral Metropolitana

Posted by Alfredo J. Martiz J. (Panama City, Panama) on 5 January 2008 in Architecture.

Photo of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Panama City's Old Quarter.
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The Old Quarter’s main (and best documented) church is the cathedral, whose construction process was erratic and prolonged. In 1674 a provisional wooden church was built. In 1676 a first drawing was made for a masonry church, inspired probably on the cathedral in Lima, with a flat headwall, three naves, side chapels and cruciform-section pillars; it was perhaps much wider than what was initially intended, as it exceeded the width of the Main Plaza. In 1688 Bishop Lucas Fernandez de Piedrahita placed the first stone of the chancel and two years later work was started on the foundations, although in thirty years not much progress was made. Around 1741 military engineer Nicolas Rodriguez modified the design, as the church was turning out quite dark; according to him, if it had been given “more capacity and extension in the naves and recesses, it would be more regular and attractive in its constituent parts.” Indeed, Rodriguez increased the distances between pillars and the side chapels were deleted and converted into two additional naves giving the interior much more light. In 1749 only the façade and tower remained to be completed. The sudden acceleration in the works was due to Francisco Javier de Luna Victoria, who in 1741 had been named General Collector of the Bishopric and Steward of the Works in the Cathedral. From 1751 to 1759, when Luna Victoria was Bishop, the work continued although the church was not consecrated until 1796.
In its final form the cathedral is a restrained, spacious and cool church. It measures 63 x 33 meters making it one of the largest in Central America. It has two towers finished off with pyramidal spires and, apart from the curved finials on the façade; there is no great indication of the baroque spirit. In fact, the decorative elements that were supposedly brought from Old Panama highlight the general classicism of the design.
Reference: El Casco Antiguo de la Ciudad de Panamá. Authors: Eduardo Tejeira Davis, Vanessa Spadafora.

Casco Viejo, Panama City. February 1st, 2006
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