Goa, which was once the capital of Portuguese Indies, is renowned for many reasons but it is particularly very popular for the churches and convents found here. The most popular church of all is the church of Bom Jesus wherein not only could one see the illustration of the process of evangelization in Asia but it also contains the tomb of St. Francis Xavier. The art and architectural styles of Goa helped in the dissemination of the Mannerist, Baroque and late gothic forms of art and architecture in India and other parts of Asia.
In the year of 1510, Goa was conquered by the Portuguese explorer Alfonso de Albuquerque and thus this place remained under the reign of Portuguese till 1961. Over time this place was made the capital of the eastern Portuguese empire and the civilians in this place shared the same kind of privileges that the citizen of Lisbon had. However Goa was struck by the cliché, excess of anything is bad, as the great influx of Europeans forced Goa towards a path of declivity. One of the main reasons of building awe-inspiring churches was to impress the natives by the magnificence of a foreign religion.
The churches after being constructed with local laterite were plastered and thereafter the finishing was done with the help of lime whitewash. The white colour was prominently used in the construction of churches and thus anybody and everybody was prohibited from using this colour in the painting of houses. The city of Goa was abandoned during the 18th century and up until then about 60 churches was built but most of them are in ruins right now. Only about 7 of these have survived. One very popular church is Se Cathedral and it has very prominent architectural aspects are the Tuscan exterior, the raised platform, and the Corinthian columns. The experts believe that it is a very popular example of Renaissance architecture.
In addition to these other very popular buildings are the Chapel of St. Catherine that was built in the year of 1510, the Church and Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi that has a spectacular Archaeological Museum, the church of Bom Jesus, Our Lady of the Rosary and the Church of St. Cajetan. The churches and convents of Goa are very popular among the art and architectural lovers and because of the exceedingly interesting creations it is a very popular tourist destination.