One of numerous elaborate stained-glass windows inside Catedral Metropolitana.

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Catedral Metropolitana

San José


East of Parque Central, the Renaissance-style Catedral Metropolitana was built in 1871 after the previous cathedral was destroyed in an earthquake. The graceful neoclassical interior has colorful Spanish-tile floors, stained-glass windows, and a Christ figure that was produced by a Guatemalan workshop in the late 17th century. On the north side of the nave, a recumbent Christ that dates back to 1878 draws devout Ticos, who arrive here to pray and deposit pleas scribbled on small slips of paper.