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| La Capilla de San Francisco, atrium and cross |
Like neighboring chapels in Coyoacan (e.g: Santa Caterina) this barrio chapel (aka: El Barrio del Cuadrante de San Francisco) started life as a neighborhood visita served from the main monastery of San Juan.
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| La Capilla de San Francisco, the arcaded chapel front |
The narrow apse framed by an archway suggests a former open air chapel. On the front, the arcade, now blocked apart from the center doorway, in turn suggests the presence of a transverse nave or narthex with triple entry points, as at Santa Caterina, and stylistically derived from the portería of the mother house of San Juan Coyoacan.
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| San Juan Coyoacan porteria |
Likewise, the classical doorway is lightly ornamented with stucco relief foliage, while a crumbling statue of the patron, St Francis, occupies the niche overhead.
Another unusual feature is the pair of carved lions crouched on pedestals above the facade.
text © 2019 Richard D. Perry
color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker
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