Church of the Society of Jesus

The Church of the Society of Jesus glows with a gold-leaf interior that covers nearly every inch of its carved cedar surfaces. This Jesuit church took one hundred and sixty years to complete, beginning in sixteen hundred and five. Architects blended indigenous artistic traditions with European Baroque styles, requiring thousands of artisans to labor on the intricate altars and columns. A sculptor once hid a miniature self-portrait inside a carved detail of the main altar, waiting for someone to find it.