Panjim
The leafy rectangular park opposite the Indian Government
Tourist Office, known as Church Square or the municipal
garden, forms the heart of Panjim. Presiding over
its east side is the town's most distinctive and photogenic
landmark, the toothpaste white baroque façade
of the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
Flanked by rows of slender palm trees, at the head
of a criss-crossing laterite walkway, the church was
built in 1541 for the benefit of sailors arriving
here from Lisbon. The weary mariners would stagger
up from the quay to give thanks for their safe passage
before proceeding to the capital at Old Goa - the
original home of the enormous bell that hangs from
its central gable.
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The Largo Da Igreja Church Square is a fine illustration of the awesome Portuguese Baroque
style. The Church of the Immaculate Conception is easily one of the most elegant and picturesque monuments
in Goa. Built in 1541 AD, atop a high, symmetrical, crisscrossing stairway, the church is a white edifice
topped with a huge bell that stands in between two elicate Baroque style towers.
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