Basilica of Bom Jesus
— — the laterite the rains turned dark.
Not only on a wall.
“A 17th-century basilica in Old Goa, the abandoned Portuguese capital on the south bank of the Mandovi. The church was finished in 1605 by the Jesuits and still holds the relics of Francis Xavier in a silver casket above a marble tomb. Unlike the white-washed churches around it, the basilica's laterite facade was stripped bare in 1950 and now reads dark red against the river light. — from the studio
Basilica of Bom Jesus, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus stands in Old Goa, fifteen kilometres east of Panaji on the south bank of the Mandovi river. Construction began under the Jesuits in 1594 and was completed in 1605; the building was consecrated to the Infant Jesus. Old Goa served as the colonial capital of Portuguese India until repeated cholera and malaria outbreaks emptied it by the late 18th century. The basilica and the surrounding churches and convents of Old Goa were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986.
The basilica is built from coursed laterite, the iron-rich tropical stone quarried locally and used across Goa's Portuguese churches. The southern and lateral facades were originally lime-plastered and limewashed white, in the style of the nearby Sé Cathedral. In 1950 the Archaeological Survey of India stripped the plaster from the main facade to expose the laterite, a controversial decision that has been debated ever since. The interior holds gilt-wood altarpieces in the Mannerist style and a marble floor laid in 1698 by the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini.
The basilica is open daily without an admission fee. The relics of Francis Xavier rest in a silver casket donated by Cosimo III of Tuscany in 1698; the casket is brought down for public veneration every ten years, most recently from November 2024 to January 2025. The dry season from November to February is the most comfortable visit window. Mass is offered daily; visitors are asked to remain at the back during the liturgy. The Archaeological Museum across the square holds Portuguese-era sculpture.