The ruins of Sao Miguel das Mis­soes in Brazil, and those of San Igna­cio Mini, San­ta Ana, Nues­tra Seno­ra de Lore­to and San­ta Maria la May­or in Argenti­na, lie at the heart of a trop­i­cal for­est. They are the impres­sive remains of five Jesuit mis­sions, built in the land of the Guara­nis dur­ing the 17th and 18th cen­turies. Each is char­ac­ter­ized by a spe­cif­ic lay­out and a dif­fer­ent state of con­ser­va­tion.