Peru Guide
Cusco
Iglesia y Convento de la Merced
Opening time: Mon– Sat 8.30am– noon & 2–5pm
Price: $2
The Iglesia y Convento de la Merced sits peacefully amid the bustle of one of Cusco's more interesting quarters. First raised with Pizarro's financial assistance on top of the Inca site Limipata in 1536 by Brother Sebastian Castañeda of the Mercedarian order, it was rebuilt some 25 years after the 1650 earthquake in a rich combination of Baroque and Renaissance styles by such native artesans as Alonso Casay and Francisco Monya. The facade is exceptionally ornate and the roof is endowed with an unusual Baroque spire, while inside there's a beautiful star-studded ceiling and a huge silver cross, which is adored and kissed by a shuffling crowd. The monastery's highlight, however, is a breathtaking 1720s monstrance standing a metre high and crafted by Spanish jeweller Juan de Olmos, who used over 600 pearls, more than 1500 diamonds and upwards of 22kg of solid gold. The monastery also possesses a fine collection of Cusqueña paintings, particularly in the cloisters and vestry, and an exceptionally gorgeous white-stone cloister.