Michelin
San Antonio de Padua Mission
Location picture
The Green Guide
The Michelin Guide's review
California's third mission is situated in an eastern valley of the coastal Santa Lucia Range. Although the mission grounds are encompassed within the boundaries of Fort Hunter Liggett, a US Army reservation, the landscape immediately surrounding the restored structures appears little changed since the late 18C. Founded by Padre Junípero Serra in 1771, the mission was originally located on the banks of a river that Serra named in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. About two years later, it was moved 1.5mi north to its present location. During its peak years, the mission was home to some 1,300 neophytes and boasted a substantial infrastructure of workshops, padres' quarters, neophyte dwellings and an elaborate irrigation system. The main church was completed in 1813. One wing of the quadrangle and the church, which today serves a local parish, are open to the public; the remaining two wings house a Franciscan retreat center.Signs along the approach to the mission point out remnants of San Antonio's infrastructure, including a tannery, gristmill and aqueduct. An elegant colonnade fronts the restored quadrangle, and a red brick campanario stands before the entrance to the church. The front wing of the mission, originally the convento, houses exhibits of mission life. Particularly noteworthy is the music room, where the walls reveal authentically replicated drawings of methods specifically developed by the padres to teach the neophytes to sing. Also intriguing are the wine vat and cellar; as grapes were crushed a half-floor above the convento, the juice drained through pipes into barrels in the cellar.
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