Museo Colonial de San Francisco

Museo Colonial de San Francisco Review

This gloomy former convent, adjacent to Iglesia San Francisco, houses the best collection of 17th-century colonial paintings on the continent. Inside the rooms wrapping around an overgrown courtyard are 54 large-scale canvases portraying the life of St. Francis (don't miss the huge painting of his religious order's "family tree"), as well as a plethora of religious iconography ranging from tiny paintings of the Virgin Mary to life-size carvings of Christ. Most pieces are labeled in Spanish and English. One gallery does double-duty as a gift shop, and it's difficult to tell exactly what is for sale.