Visiting Lima’s old town, you can discover a curious mix of stylistic elements imported from Europe, which have come to new heights in South America. What is typical, above all, is that the old buildings contain a mixture of architectural styles. It is almost impossible to reduce the historical buildings to just one style. That’s because the buildings had to suffer from the earthquakes that regularly occurred over the centuries.
The renewal work after an earthquake was carried out in the style of the respective time. In the case of the Basilica Our Lady of Mercy, this means that the portal was restored in the 20th century to plans from 1591. Externally, the church is a remarkable building. The clearly structured façade, held in pink and white, is dominated by an ornate, massive portal. It is the most striking feature of the church and its trademark. The architectural style in which the portal was built is called churriguerism. This style, named after two Spanish brothers, is characterized by the fact that the constructive elements, such as columns and arches, are veiled by all sorts of ornamentation. The result is a playful-looking view.
The Churriguerismus was imported to South America and finds itself there in different places again. The portal is made of Panamanian granite, which originally served as a ballast in ship’s hulls and thus reached Lima. In the portal, a balcony is integrated with the statue of the Virgin of Mercy, which looks over the square in front of the church. The church has only one bell tower, a political dispute prevented the construction of the second tower, so that the church looks a bit asymmetrical from the outside. The bell tower was planned as the highest Limas, which could not be carried out because of the danger of collapse during earthquakes. Only in September, the month of the patron saint of Mercedarians, are the bells ringing.