Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue, Paraguay

Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue is the only World Heritage site in Paraguay. It was inscribed in 1993, as the testimony of the Jesuits' Christianization of the Río de la Plata basin in the 17th and 18th centuries. The site represents a fusion of cultures in which the process of Christianisation permitted the indigenous population to retain elements of their traditional culture.
The mission complexes were called reducciones (settlements) and are evidence of a unique urban scheme. While each period had a singular style, all combined indigenous elements with Christian attributes and symbolism exhibiting Baroque, Romanesque and Greek influences, as part of an unprecedented process of acculturation. In the "Natives House", each group of rooms has eight arches facing the plaza. These galleries are made of stones, and the ensemble makes us think of the most impressive Roman bridges or aqueducts.

Although today the missions are essentially archaeological ruins, their original layout followed a similar form, where the church was the centre of urban core. Next to the church stood the residence of the priests. The rest of the mission was composed of the yard, cloisters with workshops, garden, the Tupa Mbaé, cemetery, and jail. Adjacent to the church, there was a large square facing the four cardinal points, with crosses or statues and shrines in the four corners. Streets 16 or 18 meters in width radiated from the squares. The houses for the indigenous residents were arcaded blocks 60 meters square. The Mission of Santísima Trinidad del Paraná stands as the largest and the best preserved of the 30 Jesuit towns, evidencing the original, unique urban layout of the Missions.

The large stone church of Trinidad, built around 1745, is the most spectacular testimony of the stone construction technology of the period of architectural renovation, decorated with a procession of musical angels worked in stone.

In addition to the main church, evidence survives of the small church, college or school, cloister, cemeteries, kitchen gardens, belfry, native houses, and workshops. The base of the college or school was about 55 meters wide by 65 long and it was entirely surrounded by the gallery.

The urban structure of Jesús de Tavarangue survives as an archaeological ruin. This reducción was founded at a different location in 1685 and moved a few years later to this site when the mission was built. It consisted of the church (which remained unfinished), the Major Square, the school, and houses for orphans and widows known as Coty Guazú or Great House. What is specific about the Mission of Jesús de Tavarangue is the unique architectural expression, The Mudéjar (Christian-Arab) style.

The style is especially reflected with the use of the trefoil arch and there are no other examples of this style in the region.

The tower is a unique monument in the Missions, with a square and heavy base. It is not known whether this was a watchtower or a bell tower, or both at the same time.

In addition to the site itself the story of the Jesuit Missions is communicated and transmitted also trough the Lithic museum. Inside the museum the visitors can find reconstructed models or churches, urban layouts which all together contribute to the better understanding and stimulate the imagination of the visitors, transporting them back to 17th and 18th centuries when the Missions took place.