A short visual history of the long life of Goa’s Basilica of Bom Jesus
In its current form, the Basilica has become an icon of the coastal state. But to prolong its life, it must be replastered – restoring it to its original form.
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This photo essay offers a variety of representations of the Basilica of Bom Jesus, the structure which famously houses the remains of St Francis Xavier, highlighting its aesthetic transformations historically.
This visual journey is an intervention in debates about the Basilica’s appearance, having arisen over the necessity to alter the building’s iconic look.
The following images may then hasten its replastering, a restoration that not only returns the Basilica to its original form but that will extend its life by protecting it from climate-related damage.
“If looks could kill,” the expression goes. Were this the case, then the 16th-century Basilica of Bom Jesus, one of Goa’s most iconic monuments, may well become a victim of its own famed appearance. A visual history of the structure shows how the Basilica’s look has evolved over the longue durée of its existence.
To withstand further damage from Goa’s annual monsoons, the external surface of Bom Jesus requires plastering. This may suggest that the building’s look will be transformed beyond recognition but as its history, when rendered visually, advises otherwise.
The monument’s present-day unplastered aspect, fixed in the popular imagination by tourism-related visual culture, has cemented the iconicity of the building while simultaneously relying on its historic acclaim as a symbol synonymous with...
