Santa Catalina Convent in Cusco, Perú

 The Santa Catalina Convent in Cusco, Perú is a fascinating church and convent with more than four centuries of history. Much of the convent is open to the public and allows visitors to learn about the lives of the nuns who live here and learn about the convent’s valuable collection of religious art.

The Santa Catalina Convent in Cusco, Perú is built on the ruins of Acllawasi, an Inca institution where virtuous members of the nobility lived and worshiped the sun god. Women attended ceremonies, weaving, and preparing sacred bread and beer. The Santa Catalina Convent was founded here in the early 17th century and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1650. Reconstruction began the following year and continues to this day.

Admire the architecture of the convent, a well-preserved example of Mudejar (Spanish Moorish) design. See the beautiful painted arches and the magnificent chapter house decorated with murals. Inside the chapel you will see Baroque frescoes that represent Inca vegetation.

Location

The Santa Catalina Convent in Cusco, Perú is located in Santa Catalina Angosta s / n, approximately 100 m from the Cathedral of Cusco

Description

Founded in 1605, the church and the monastery had to be rebuilt after the 1650 earthquake. The church has beautiful Baroque altars and a superb pulpit. The altars were the work of the masters Pedro de Oquendo and Diego Martínez de Oviedo (both from the 17th century). Their oil paintings are signed by Juan Espinoza de los Monteros and Lorenzo Sánchez de Medina in the second third of the 17th century.

History

En la época de los Incas, el Aqllawasi era un recinto sagrado donde se alojaban las mujeres más bellas y virtuosas del Tawantinsuyo, dedicadas al culto solar y a tareas ceremoniales. Estas mujeres, divididas en dos categorías según su linaje, eran mantenidas vírgenes y realizaban diversas labores religiosas y domésticas bajo la supervisión de las Mamakunas. Tenían un estatus tan elevado que ni siquiera el propio Inca podía verlas, salvo la Qoya y sus hijas. La transgresión de esta norma tenía graves consecuencias según la Ley Inca.

En la actualidad, el lugar donde se erigía el Aqllawasi ha sido reemplazado por la iglesia y monasterio de las monjas dominicas de Santa Catalina. Fundado en 1601 por Doña Lucía Isabel Rivera de Padilla en Cusco, este monasterio sustituyó a uno previamente destruido en Arequipa. Tras un terremoto en 1650, se inició la construcción del actual edificio, finalizada cuatro años después.

El monasterio cuenta con una notable colección de arte colonial cusqueño, con pinturas y retablos que representan la vida de Santa Catalina, la Virgen de los Remedios, el Señor de los Temblores, Santa Rosa de Lima y Santo Domingo de Guzmán, entre otros. Destacan obras de artistas anónimos de la escuela cusqueña, así como de Juan Espinoza de los Monteros y Lorenzo Sánchez Mefecit.

La iglesia, igualmente impresionante, posee un altar mayor de cedro dorado con pan de oro, una mezcla de estilos, con la imagen central del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, flanqueado por Santa Catalina y Santo Domingo. También cuenta con un púlpito y cuatro retablos más pequeños, todos elaborados en cedro y dorados. Además, el coro superior alberga un órgano rústico cusqueño y lienzos que narran la vida de Santa Catalina.

Attractions

It has a main altar of golden cedar with mixed style, in the central portion and upwards is the image in bulk of the «Sacred Heart of Jesus» and below Santa Catalina and Santo Domingo; It has a pulpit carved in cedar and four other minor altarpieces, all gilded.

It has a magnificent museum and, in addition, the nuns are known for making exquisite marzipan and almond sweets.

Schedule

Visits during mass hours.

Useful information about the churches of Cusco

To visit the main churches of Cusco, a good option is to purchase the ticket to the ‘Cusco religious circuit’, which includes tickets to the Museum of Religious Art, the Church of San Blas, the Church of San Cristóbal and the Cathedral.

To visit most of the churches in the city of Cusco, you can enter at mass time, which, in most cases, is 7 am. at 9 am. On Sundays.

The ‘Andean Baroque Circuit’ tour is a good option to visit the southern towns of Cusco as well as its churches. This tour includes: the Temple of the Company of Jesus, the Church of San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas, the Temple of San Juan Bautista de Huaro and the Chapel of the Purified Virgin of Canincunca.

A rule written on the signs of the churches of Cusco is that it is forbidden to take photos inside most of the churches of Cusco.

Visiting Cusco is a real adventure whose protagonist will be yourself, instead of a memorable experience, that is why Cusco is definitely one of the most incredible cities with a great variety of archaeological centers and tours such as Sacred Valley, Camino Inca or Machu Picchu. To enjoy an unforgettable experience, contact Inka Trail Backpacker, a company that will better assist you during your visit, of course it is always with the necessary advice for you and yours as well as the guarantee, responsibility and security that characterizes us. If you visit the city of Cusco another impressive destinations that you can visit are the tour to rainbow mountain peru or the humantay lake tour from cusco, which only takes one day. But if you are gonna to stay more days in Cusco, other archaeological places you can know will be the choquequirao trek peru, the salkantay trek to machu picchu, and the classic inca trail 4 days 3 nights.