Iglesia de San Francisco Just off Santiago’s hectic main thoroughfare, the thick walls of the Iglesia de San Francisco, with the adjacent Franciscan Monastery, provide a peaceful haven from the downtown traffic. The church was originally built in the late 16th century by Chile’s conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia, and it has survived regular earthquakes (although its tower has gone through several incarnations). It is one of Santiago’s oldest buildings and the adjacent former monastery houses the Museo Colonial San Francisco (Colonial Museum of St Francis), which contains a collection of ecclesiastical art dating from the colonial era.
