Temples with mud feet. Churches and Parishes in the rural architecture of the Maule

Abstract

The space for worship in rural communities on the Maule region coastline is shaped by churches and chapels built between the 16th and 19th centuries. They currently constitute part of the national heritage. These temples demonstrate an “historicalconstructive continuity” with the villages since they were built using simple constructive principles based on colonial architecture. These settlements present a clear cultural consistency in the application of characteristic constructive methods in their homes, based on the development of adobe walls, elements of carved wood and timber shingle roofs, but with the hierarchy of the sacred space.

These religious constructions remain despite social and labour changes and numerous earthquakes, a testament to the hidden wisdom of the constructive systems employed. In some villages the religious community is in decline and the permanence of the temples as a sacred place is not assured, thus threatening the preservation of the rural heritage.