San Marcos Cathedral in Arica

The St. Mark's Cathedral also called Arica Cathedral is a Catholic church that is located in the city of Arica in the far north of Chile. The building was a commission by the government of the Peruvian President José Balta to the workshops of the Frenchman Gustave Eiffel and originally intended for the Ancón resort.

The old mother church of Arica stood for 226 years, until the colony was destroyed by an earthquake on August 13, 1868. Because of this, a committee of ladies of Arica asked Balta that a new construction be designed for Arica. The request was accepted and the building was inaugurated in 1876 on the ruins of the old mother church.