Three ‘Must-Sees’ Colonial Architecture in Cusco
Aside from being multicultural and having a diverse climate, Peru is also proud of its deep-rooted architectural designs. The designs of the Peruvian architecture, according to experts, have three classifications – Pre-Columbian, Colonial and Vernacular.
Cusco, a city in Peru, showcases remarkable structures under the different classifications. Here are three of the best architectural sites under the Colonial category.
1. CUSCO CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral of Cusco is also known as the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin. The church construction lasted more than a hundred year, from 1559 to 1669. The majestic design of this Renaissance-style church consists of: three-aisled nave with fourteen colossal pillars; a main altar constructed in silver that weighs 400 kilograms; delicately carved choir stalls; and 400 plus artworks from the Escuela Cuzquena or the Cuzco Art School. Some significant pieces of artwork displayed are the ‘Pintura Senyor de los Temblores’, ‘Vicente de Valverde’ and ‘Christ’s 12 Parables’. One may find the Cusco Cathedral at Plaza de Armas.
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IGLESIA DE LA COMPANIA DE JESUS
Most people call this Jesuit church at Quito Ecuador as ‘La Compania’. The church construction began in 1605 and completed one hundred sixty years later, in 1765.
‘La Compania’ was the most controversial church ever made in Peru. It all started when the archbishop of Cusco debated that the Jesuit church should not up stage the Cusco Cathedral. To settle the argument Pope Paul III had to intervene. The Pope agreed with the archbishop, but the message did not reach Peru immediately. The delay gave the Jesuits a lot of time to finish their glamorous church.
‘La Compania’ proudly showcase a huge central nave dressed-up with wood carvings, glided plaster and gold leaf; two gold and green domes; Latin cross floor plan; and ten sides gold-plated
altars. 3. TEMPLOY CONVENTO de LA MERCED Another structure design under the colonial classification is the Temploy Convento de la Merced or simply ‘La Merced’. Compared to the Cusco Cathedral and ‘La Compania’ the development of this baroque-style church was shorter. They started construction in 1657 and finished after twenty-three years, in 1680. The third most popular colonial church in Cusco proudly flaunts the following – a sacristy with precious stones, gold and a huge pearl; paintings and carvings of colonial art; baroque-style bell tower; oil paintings of well-known artists; carved choir stalls; exceptional lunettes; and three naves. ‘La Merced’ church is near Plaza de Armas. Spain conquered Cusco, Peru in 1537. Fortunately, the Spaniards appreciated the beautiful architectural designs made by the Incans and decided not to destroy the unique structures in the city. Instead, they mixed the ‘old’ with the ‘new’ Spanish style hence they produced impressive architectural designs. The three churches - Cusco Cathedral, ‘La Compania’ and ’La Merced’ –are proof of that. The other structures in Cusco like the San Blas, Santo Domingo and Coricancha, Inca Walls, Museo Casa Concha, Plaza de Armas, Sacsayhuaman, Museo Inka and many more will also have the same grandiosity. All in all, breathtaking Cusco, Peru is a place every traveller should check out.
Near the bell is a statue of Father Junipero Serra. The ruins of the original stone church are in front of the mission. Only the sanctuary and parts of the church remain, but that’s enough to have an idea of how big it is. The church walls are made of large stones and birds have built nests between them. Mission San Juan Capistrano was one of many Spanish missions in colonial Las Californias around 1776.
However, as illustrated by Walker, the colonial rulers would in turn batter the natives with their alternative goals and ideas for the future of Lima. Finally, the author reconstructs the upheaval of Lima during its’ reconstruction and their forced and struggled relationship with the Spanish crown that ultimately led to rebellions and retaliations by the Afro-Peruvians and Indians. To begin with, it is imperative to understand the premise and dialogue of the book. Walker divides Shaky Colonialism into eight chapters. These chapters detail the inhabitants’ perceptions, struggles, efforts, etc. through the eyes and ideas of Walker.
One of the most interesting aspects of Diaz’s narrative is towards the end when Cortés broaches the subject of Christianity with Montezuma. Conversion and missionary work was one of the most important and lasting goals of the conquistadors and other contemporary explorers, they were charged with this duty by the rulers who sent t...
Colonial Latin American society in the Seventeenth Century was undergoing a tremendous amount of changes. Society was transforming from a conquering phase into a colonizing phase. New institutions were forming and new people and ideas flooded into the new lands freshly claimed for the Spanish Empire. Two remarkable women, radically different from each other, who lived during this period of change are a lenses through which many of the new institutions and changes can be viewed. Sor Juana and Catalina de Erauso are exceptional women who in no way represent the norm but through their extraordinary tales and by discovering what makes them so extraordinary we can deduce what was the norm and how society functioned during this era of Colonial Latin America.
Through the study of the Peruvian society using articles like “The “Problem of the Indian...” and the Problem of the Land” by Jose Carlos Mariátegui and the Peruvian film La Boca del Lobo directed by Francisco Lombardi, it is learned that the identity of Peru is expressed through the Spanish descendants that live in cities or urban areas of Peru. In his essay, Mariátegui expresses that the creation of modern Peru was due to the tenure system in Peru and its Indigenous population. With the analyzation of La Boca del Lobo we will describe the native identity in Peru due to the Spanish treatment of Indians, power in the tenure system of Peru, the Indian Problem expressed by Mariátegui, and the implementation of Benedict Andersons “Imagined Communities”.
The study of religion is often a rigorous process because the central tenets of the subject: image, ritual, and myth are often copious in their complexity. For example, consider the multiple meanings that are inherent in the image of a crucifix. Some Christians might view it as an image of suffering, whilst others would reject that notion and instead perceive it to be one of love. These differences may seem inconsequential at first, but they can overtime shape the beliefs of an individual and by extension a community. To understand this dynamic better one only has to analyze the Christo Aparecido (Christ Appeared), an authentic Mexican crucifix with a fascinating history from the colonial era to the present. This history is made known by the text, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present by Jennifer Hughes, from which I contend that over the life of the Christo Aparecido there continues to be an understanding among devotees that this crucifix is sacred because it displays animus while being a vestige for the sacred to occupy. To support my position I will attempt to relate the moments where the Christo Aparecido is said to show signs of life, in particular his stay in Mexico City during the colonial era and his role in more modern times with rival groups clashing over its efficacy in the village of Totolapan.
Bowden’s idea of why this happened focused mainly on the old misunderstood traditions of the tribes living in Mexico. He shows how the friars, churches and icons took the blunt of the revolts force. Bowden points out the religious differences and similarities be...
Castillo first shows the reader her distrust of patriarchy and its vertical structures through La Loca Santa’s death. The first structure under scrutiny here is the Catholic Church. After La Loca awakens she throws herself into the air and lands on the top of the Church, saying that those below her carry the same scent that she had smelled while in hell. With Loca high above the others she can be seen as a “substation” for a new Chicana Christ figure (Delgadillo 895). She tells those gathered below that she has been sent back to pray for them so that they would be able to see their Creator in heaven. Father Jerome pleads with her to come down so that the congregation could pray for her. She then reminds him that it is she that was sent to pray for them. With La Loca in the position of a Christ figure of the system, the structure of the system, in this case religion,...
After walking inside and trying to first experience, the church, and all its beauty and ornateness, I began examining the floor plan and elevations of the cathedral. Grace Cathedral was build in a gothic style, which it represents in its architecture inside and out. There were three huge rose windows. One at the very top of the main entrance and one on either end of the transept. There wer...
This does not, however, dismiss the reality of torture in Chile nor soften Cavanaugh’s criticisms of “distinction of planes” ecclesiologies. Church paradigms such as Maritain’s New Christendom have led Catholics in Chile and elsewhere to buy into a “devil’s bargain” wherein the Church confines itself to the social, or spiritual, realm and allows the state to dominate in the political, or temporal, realm (196). Such ecclesiologies simultaneously facilitate the Church’s disappearance as a societal body and strip the Church of any tangible ability to counteract the actions of oppressive governments. The Chilean church’s ecclesiology had real, disastrous consequences for Chileans under the Pinochet regime – consequences that perhaps could have been mitigated under a different ecclesiological
Peruvians who lean toward Spanish as their main language choose European clothing over traditional. Peruvian clothing is diverse and shows where people have their roots. Though the clothing is stunning, the people one can meet are also interesting and
This is because Peruvian cuisine is influenced by various cultures including those of the Inca Empire, Spanish conquistadors, and African slaves (lavidacomida.com). In the 1400s the natives from the Inca Empire sustained themselves mostly with corn, potatoes, and aji otherwise known as chili peppers. To this day Peru, also known as “The Potato Capital of the world”, is well known for its potatoes with 4,000 varieties (foodbycountry.com). Then in the 1500s the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro introduced new foods such as wheat, barley, beans, carrots, onions, chicken pork, and lam. However, the Spanish conquistadores also brought with them many diseases, which led to tons of natives dying and the fall of the Inca Empire. Diseases were not the only thing the Spanish conquistadors brought with them, they also brought many African slaves. This African slaves introduced new ways of cooking such as frying food. Another culture that greatly influenced Peruvian cuisine were he Chinese immigrants that arrived to build railroads in the 1800s (lacidacomida.com). The Chinese introduced ginger, soy sauce, and green onions. In addition, Peruvian cuisine has a lot of diversity due to Peru being divided into three regions, which are the coast, the Andean highlands, and Amazon rainforest. In the coast the climate is dry and seafood and stews are more prominent. In the highlands farming and
The Story of Christianity is a very informative summation; a continuation of Volume 1 which covered the beginning of the church up to the Protestant Reformation, while Vol. 2 dealt with the Protestant Reformation up to more modern time period. This author delivers a more comprehensive and deeper look into the development of Christianity, which includes particular events which had transpired throughout the world; particularly how Christianity has expanded into Central and South America. Gonzalez opens up this book with the “Call for Reformation,” where he shares with his readers the need for reform; the papacy had started to decline and was corrupt, in addition to the Great Schism, which had further weakened the papacy (p.8). The author explains how the church was not the only issue but that the church’s teachings were off track as well, seeing that the people had deviated from...
...arcelona the chance to demonstrate to the world the pride of the Catalan people. In recent years, Barcelona has turned its attention to another part of the city, where a new waterfront area is being developed along with The Forum and BCN 22@. While each of these projects is a demonstration to the same sense of Catalan Pride which is a driving force behind the Sagrada Família, none comes close to the determined efforts invested in the temple. Speaking of this Catalan pride and the desire to contribute to humanity, Gaudi once said, “This will be the temple of the Catalonia of today. I remember once being told that Catalonia had never been anything historically. And I answered that if this were true it would be more reason to believe that it was still meant to be something and for that we must work.”1
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)