San Marcos Cathedral is the most representative church in Arica. It sits right in the city center, on Bolognesi Street 170, directly across from Plaza Colón and between San Marcos and 7 de Junio streets. Its construction was ordered in the 19th century, when the city still belonged to Peru. President José Balta commissioned the project to the workshops of French engineer Gustave Eiffel, who had originally designed it for the Ancón seaside resort.

The church that stood there before dated back to colonial times and remained standing for more than two centuries, until it was destroyed by the 1868 earthquake. Following this disaster, a group of women from Arica asked President Balta for the new building to be given to the city, a request that was ultimately granted.

The metal structure, manufactured in France, arrived in Arica in 1875 and was assembled by French specialists. A year later, in 1876, the church was inaugurated on the remains of the old destroyed parish.

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