Peru Guide
Arequipa
Catedral
Opening time: Mon– Sat 7–11.30am & 5–8pm, Sun 7am–12.45pm & 5–7.30pm
The arcades and elegant white facade of the seventeenth-century Catedral demand your attention, even drawing your sight away from El Misti towering behind. It looks particularly beautiful when lit up in the evenings, displaying some French influence in its Neo-Renaissance style. Consecrated in 1556, the building was subsequently gutted by fire in 1844 and restored in 1868 by Lucas Poblete, before coming to grief again in 2001 when its impressive Neoclassical towers were seriously damaged in an earthquake. Apart from the massive Belgian-built organ, said to be one of the largest in South America, a beautiful French-made pulpit and a marble altar created by Felippo Moratillo, the vast interior is actually rather disappointing in its generally bland and austere design.