San Cosme y Damian

San Cosme y Damián was founded in 1632 and, after several moves, settled at its present site on the north bank of the Paraná in 1718, and it is distinguished among the Paraguayan Jesuit missions by what happened inside it: Buenaventura Suárez, a Jesuit born in Santa Fe, built instruments here and made astronomical observations from the 1730s, publishing an ephemeris that was used across the region, which makes the mission an early observatory in South America. The church, unfinished when the order was expelled in 1767, was completed and restored in the twentieth century, and the buildings around the plaza survive with the Guarani quarters. An astronomical centre with a planetarium and telescopes runs sessions, including night viewing.

History

Father Adriano Formoso founded the mission in 1632, named after the twin physician saints Cosmas and Damian; its people moved several times before settling on the north bank of the Paraná in 1718. Father Buenaventura Suárez, born in Santa Fe in 1678, arrived in 1703 and worked here until his death in 1750, building sundials, telescopes and quadrants with Guaraní help, and the mission church is the only one in Paraguay still in continuous use (Wikipedia, San Cosme y Damián).

What you'll find

• The mission church - the building completed after the expulsion.
• The Guarani quarters - the ranges around the plaza.
• The astronomy centre - the planetarium and telescope sessions.
• The Suarez connection - the display on the Jesuit astronomical work.

When to go

April to October in the cooler dry months. Night astronomy sessions run on clear evenings and should be booked. The site keeps daytime hours. It combines with the Trinidad and Jesus missions to the east.

Before you go

The church is largely twentieth-century completion and restoration. The mission is smaller and less complete than Trinidad. Night sessions depend on weather and booking. The town has limited facilities.

Nearby

Encarnacion lies east; Trinidad and Jesus are beyond it.

Key facts