The majestic church of Candolim is situated at the foot of the hills of Candolim and facing the Nerul river. The primitive church of Candolim was built in 1560 by Fr. Pedro de Belem and was repaired and remodeled in 1661. After Verem, the Franciscans are believed to have built this beautiful church. Although it was repaired in 1661, the Franciscans were not satisfied with the result. The Provincial, Antonio de Assumpcaô then ordered the old church to be demolished and a new one to be constructed. Fr Jeronymo de Natividade who had some knowledge of architecture, revised the original plans and considerably cut down the cost. The entire cost for all this construction was borne by the village community. The church is unique as it was built using the Mannerist Neo-Roman style. The front piece is topped by piediment. Its large twin towers have special pagoda like roofs. The finials are of spear type; something which makes the church of Our Lady of Hope (Nossa Senhora de Esperanca) rare is the bell towers which rise high above the central gable. In 1948 the left side tower of the church collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Read More