San Francisco de Asis Church - Taos NM - A source of inspiration for artists, travelers and natives alike, the mission church of Saint Francis of Assisi, in Ranchos de Taos, has been worshipped in, painted and photographed by artists and travelers who have lived in or passed through northern New Mexico. Its mysterious sculptural form, created out of the indigenous building materials of adobe and wood, has been portrayed by more artists than any other church in the United States. The village of Ranchos de Taos was settled by the Spanish in 1716. "The Ranchos Church," San Francisco de Asis, was completed in 1815 and provides one of the best examples of Franciscan Old World architectural ideals combined with New World building techniques. The church is fortress-like, with adobe walls four feet thick and enormous buttresses. Light plays off its enormous sculptural form to reflect the change of line, time and space.