THE PERSISTENCE OF THE FLOOR PLAN MODEL OF THE MISSION CHURCH CONCEIVED BY JUAN MARIA SALVATIERRA IN LOWER CALIFORNIA

This research investigates the persistence of the architectural model introduced by Juan María Salvatierra in the early eighteenth century at the mission of Loreto, regarded as the nucleus of the first stable building program in Lower California. The metrological approach—based on planimetric reconstruction and the use of a reference grid in Roman feet—represents an innovative contribution to the analysis of mission architecture, highlighting the dimensional coherence of the bestpreserved singlenave Jesuit churches in the region. The findings suggest that the first adobe church erected by Salvatierra served as an archetype, owing to its strong symbolic value associated with the figure of the founder of the Californian missions. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that one of the side chapels of the present eighteenthcentury church may reproduce the Holy House, perhaps built by Salvatierra himself, thereby reinforcing the devotional and identityrelated character of the entire complex.