Peru Guide
Cusco
The Catedral
Address: Plaza de Armas
Opening time: Mon– Sun 10am–5pm
Price: $5
The Catedral sits solidly on the foundations of the Inca Viracocha palace, its massive lines looking fortress-like in comparison with the delicate form of the nearby La Compañía. Construction began in 1560; the cathedral was built in the shape of a Latin cross with a three-aisled nave supported by only fourteen pillars. There are two entrances, one via the main central Cathedral doors; the other, more usual, way is through the Triunfo Chapel, the first Spanish church to be built in Cusco. Check out its finely carved granite altar and the huge canvas depicting the terrible 1650 earthquake, before moving into the main Cathedral to see the intricately carved pulpit and beautiful cedar-wood seats, as well as a Neoclassical high altar, made entirely of finely beaten embossed silver, and some of the finest paintings of the Cusqueña school. In the Sacristy, on the right of the nave, there's a large, dark painting of the crucifixion attributed to Van Dyck. Ten smaller chapels surround the nave, including the Capilla de la Concepíon Imaculada (Chapel of the Immaculate Conception), and the Capilla del Señor de los Temblores (The Lord of Earthquakes), the latter housing a 26-kilogram crucifix made of solid gold and encrusted with precious stones. To the left of the Cathedral is the adjoining eighteenth-century Iglesia de Jesus Maria, a relatively small extension to the main church; here you'll find a sombre collection of murals and a lavish main altar.
The Cathedral's appeal lies as much in its folklore and legends, as in its sights. Local myth claims that an Indian chief is still imprisoned in the right-hand tower, awaiting the day when he can restore the glory of the Inca Empire. The Cathedral also houses the huge, miraculous gold and bronze bell of Maria Angola, named after a freed African slave girl and reputed to be one of the largest church bells in the world. And on the massive main doors of the Cathedral, native craftsmen have left their own pagan adornment – a carved puma's head – representing one of the most important religious motifs and gods found throughout ancient Peru.