Cusco peru, Travel
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Guide, Cusco Peru
Travel planner to Cusco, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Sacred valley and all of
Cusco Peru
Cathedral
The construction of the cathedral of Cuzco began into 1564, it will
be completed one century later. The pink volcanic stones of its
frontage were torn off from the citadel of Saqsaywamán. In the
vaults, the profusion of paintings of the school of Cuzco transforms
the cathedral into a museum.
San Blas is today a
downtown neighborhood in the city known as the " Artists'
District", with narrow and writhing streets, most of them
steep. In Inkan times it was one of the most important
districts of Qosqo and its name was "T'oqo-kachi" (T'oqo =
hollow; kachi = salt). Like the other districts it was
inhabited by the Quechua nobility. It seems that the church
was erected over an Inkan Sanctuary devoted to cult of the "Illapa"
god (Thunder, Lightning and Thunderbolt). It was possibly
opened for the first time in 1544 by the city's second
Bishop Juan Solano. Although some other versions say that it
was after 1559 as consequence of viceroy Andres Hurtado de
Mendoza's order by which "Indians" had to built churches for
their indoctrination in the districts where they lived. Its
structure was simple with a rectangular floor plan and mud
brick walls, but after the earthquakes in 1650 and 1950 it
was partially reinforced with stone walls. It has just one
nave and two gates before which there are big plazas; and a
stone bell tower constructed after the 1950 earthquake
instead of the original made with mud bricks.
Santa Catalina
Built by the Spanish between 1601 and
1610 on top of Acllahuasi, where the Inca emperor once housed his
chosen Virgins of the Sun, this convent and museum houses an
interesting collection of colonial and religious art. Like other
attractions in Cusco, this museum has a number of pieces from the
Cusqueña School, an art movement emphasizing the union of both Inca
and Spanish culture. In addition to baroque frescoes depicting Inca
vegetation, the chapel also houses macabre statues of Jesus,
beautifully painted arches, and 17th century tapestries. Perhaps the
highlight of this site is a trunk of 3D figurines which recount the
life of Christ. Objects such as this were popular devices used by
the Catholic Church’s “traveling salesmen,” who were responsible for
converting many of the indigenous people throughout Peru.
The Franciscan Order was founded by
Saint Francis native from Assisi in present-day Italy, toward the
beginning of XIII century. The Franciscans arrived to Qosqo by the
first years of the conquest and were located by the San Blas
district, later in the Nazarenas Square, in the ancient Qasana
palace belonging to Inka Pachakuteq in the Main Square and finally
in their present-day location over the San Francisco Square toward
1549. It is not known who the architect was that designed the
present-time building; however, it is known that Francisco Dominguez
Chavez y Arellano, a Cusquenian architect who worked as the chief
mason finished it.
The baroque-style
colonial church and convent of La Merced was built between 1657 and
1680. The original church built on this site in 1536 was destroyed
in the 1650 earthquake which devastated much of Cusco. La Merced is
considered to be the third most important colonial church in Cusco,
after the Cathedral and La Compania.
Inside the church are paintings based on the life of San Pedro
Nolasco, who founded the Order of La Merced. One of the most
impressive treasures in La Merced is a gold shrine with precious
gems, found in the sacristy. Also contained in La Merced are the
remains of the conquistadors Diego del Almagro and Gonzalo Pizzaro.
Peru
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many unique places, mountains, beaches and etc.
Iglesia de la Compañia
The Iglesia de la Compañia, in Cuzco. Going back to 1576, it was
raised by the Jesuits, with whom one attributes the ambition to have
wanted to eclipse the cathedral, on the site of Amarukancha, the
palace of Huayna Càpac. Its baroque frontage out of cut stone is
splendid.
