With the conquest of the New World came the inevitable conquest of the ‘one true faith’. Millions of Indigo Islanders were spared their heathen ways and shepherded towards a theology of another persuasion, while toiling in the name of gold a foreign monarch during the age of exploitation exploration.
These controversial practices required the erection of numerous churches throughout the Caribbean, in which the newly enlightened could attend the Sunday mass, confess their sins and beg forgiveness for whatever past grievances their new messiah may disapprove of.
One such re-education centre was built upon blueprints crafted by the finest Italian architect, Amedeo Pedata. Despite its ecumenical origins, could this bethel have been transformed into something else? Something nefariously imperial? We shall soon find out…
Welcome to the Church of Torture. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave
Amedeo writes:
A small church stood on a rock outcropping in the Caribbean seas. Place of retreat for preachers who left for the new world to convert the natives.
But many years had passed since the discovery of the Americas, and the little church had become a possession of the blue coats who brought the buccaneers there, and subjected them to exhausting interrogations.
And for those who didn’t speak, there was nothing but the dungeons infested with giant spiders…
The Holy Exterior
Our tour starts with an parrot-eye view of a beautiful cross mounted on the roof catches the attention of all
As it was built on some God forsaken rock, the church is only accessible by sea. If ye be a pirate, beware, for there is a deadly cannon awaiting you
A small pier for row boats was constructed in the deeper water, just a shy of rather hazardous rocks
Back view reveals some beautiful rock-building skills
The ‘angled’ construction against the base water gives even more visual depth. Fantastic!
Despite the obvious lack of the freshwater, flowers seem to boom on this holy isle
From above we may observe the beautiful texture of the sea surrounding the island
The Unholy Interior
Amedeo continues:
It was born as a “torture room”, for a medieval-themed contest on a 16×16 base (the first MOC was just the church, without a facade, used for the inquisition ).
Then, since I liked it, I enlarged the base to 32×32 and added the facade of the church… then I converted it to a pirate theme to add it to a diorama (several independent sections to juxtapose).
Finally I enlarged it to 48×48, imagining it as an isolated landing place. In short, 4/5 months of changes.
Not to be undone by the beautiful exterior, the interior is literally filled with countless awesome small details
Here we can see how a lovely chandelier is cleverly mounted on the roof beams
When we think about the confession inside the church we don’t have corporal punishment in mind… but, drastic times require drastic measures
Look at the unevenly stacked envelopes, the upward hanging skeleton, the cross above the ‘Interrogation Officer’ seat, and the texture of walls. Plenty of these small details make one captivating scene
The use of the advanced technique makes for a colourful window glass – steal borrow this idea!
Well, praise the Lord for the spider dungeon! A final touch to a MOC evenly balanced between the pure beauty and the wickedness of man
About the Builder…
A versatile builder and one of those Facebook pirates, Amedeo Pedata is a member of the Classic-Pirates Facebook Group where he regularly shares stunning creations for group members to marvel. His talent knows no boundaries as he easily hops from land based builds to a more challenging ships design, and back!
Pirates are his favourite theme, but for his other brilliant ‘brick work’ (and very fine skills in LEGO photography) visit his Flickr account which is bulging with numerous awesome builds.
What Do Yer Think?
Do you think Governor Broadside would approve the misuse of a house of God? Or would his blood be boiling if he discovered these crimes against humanity? What’s your favourite part… the spider infested dungeons or the stunning exterior?
Share your thoughts in the Facebook post comments or in the word’s only biggest LEGO Pirates forum. We await you!
