While the dataset is comprehensive there are important limitations in terms of chronology and location.
By looking at the history of most of these early settlements it became clear it was not possible to indicate a precise date or the exact coordinates for some of the entries. Cumaná, for example, where the Convent of San Francisco was located, was a town founded in the 1500s by the Franciscans and, later on, occupied by Dominicans missionaries. According to accounts from Francisco de Tauste, a capuchin missionary in 1680, the town was destroyed in several occasions by Cumanagoto Indians, forcing missionaries and Spanish settlers to move the settlement to a different location. Other places suffered similar conditions, either by the attack of the Indians who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Europeans, or environmental conditions like earthquakes or floods. Sometimes earlier churches were destroyed in order to make a new building with better infrastructure, a practice that became more frequent after the eighteenth century, during the time Mariano Martí took charge of the Bishopric, whose report is often cited by Gasparini.[1]
Most of the coordinates were easy to locate using Google Maps, but there were places that required further search since they no longer exist, they changed names, they became part of a larger parish, or were destroyed. In those cases, the dataset provides an approximate location instead of an exact coordinate. This happens, for example, with San Francisco de Asís de Cara. The town and the church was founded in 1696 by the Friar Ildefonso de Zaragoza, but the town was abandoned in 1967 when the Venezuelan government started the construction of the Camatagua dam in the lake next to the town. The remains of the colonial settlement are now under water.[2] In order to inform the users about these variations, I have added a space for observations that indicate if the location and/or dates are an estimation based on the historical and geographical data.
From the interactive map or from the Sacred Spaces section in the menu, users can access further historical information about the settlements and temples I have been tracing during my research. These posts documents important events and persons related to each of the towns and churches, e.g. years in which the church was renovated; whether or not a town changed locations or was rebuilt due to a natural disaster, accident or attack; the names of people that might have been involved in the construction, adornments or renovations of the temples; and whether or not the church is still active. A good portion of these buildings were renovated in the eighteenth century and in subsequent periods, leaving financial information regarding these construction works; the acquisition of adornments and religious objects, and other data I have tried to incorporate in the context. This information can be relevant to develop further analysis about the history of these locations, the built environment, and patterns of settlement throughout the colonial period.
For the time being, I chose to leave out Gasparini assessment on architectural design and styles since I wanted to concentrate in providing historical information and the people involved in this built environment. However, this information will be incorporated later on in order to expand the entries and recognize the significance of Gasparini work as an architectural historian, and the richness of this data to examine the built environment and material culture (adornment, paintings, religious objects) associated with these churches.
[1] The Bishop Mariano Martí documented the state of the churches he visited during his pastoral visit across the Diocese of Caracas, between the years 1771-1784. In this relación he describes the conditions of the building, approximate date of foundation or of the first parish book, and other relevant information. Gasparini often cites this document along with other relaciones by bishops and officers who travelled across the Province of Venezuela.
[2] Gasparini, Templos coloniales, p. 455; “Ruinas de la Iglesia San Francisco de Cara,” IAM Venezuela, https://iamvenezuela.com/2017/05/ruinas-de-la-iglesia-san-francisco-de-cara/