|
|
|
|
Catedral Review
Read our Cusco and Machu Picchu sights reviews. Or post your own.
Catedral 
- Address: Haukaypata (Plaza de Armas), Cusco
- Phone: 084/254-285
- Category: Religious Sites
- Location: Cusco
Fodor's Review:
The baroque-style cathedral is built on the foundations of the palace of the Inca Wirachocha. Construction began in 1550, using many stones looted from the site of the hillside Sacsayhuamán fortress, and ended a century later. It is considered one of the most splendid Spanish colonial churches in the Americas. Within its high walls are some of the best examples of the Cusqueña school of painting, including a Marcos Zapata painting of the Last Supper with a local specialty, cuy (guinea pig), as the main dish.
The cathedral's centerpieces are its massive, solid-silver altar, and the enormous 1659 María Angola bell, the largest in South America, which hangs in one of the towers and can be heard from miles away. Behind the main altar is the original wooden altar primitivo dedicated to St. Paul. The 64-seat cedar choir has rows of carved saints, popes, and bishops, all in stunning detail down to their delicately articulated hands.
Five chapels flank each side of the nave. The one dedicated to Nuestro Señor de los Temblores (Our Lord of the Earthquakes) contains a solid-gold crucifix that, legend has it, minimized damage to the building during a 1650 earthquake. There's non-Christian imagery here, too: figures of pumas, the Inca representation of the Earth, are carved on the enormous main doors. Normal access to the cathedral is not via those doors but through the adjoining Sagrada Familia church, the structure on the left as you face the cathedral. You then pass through the cathedral itself, and exit via the Iglesia del Triunfo, the city's first Christian church. Pause before departing the Triunfo to note the two altars flanking the exit. One portrays a rustic Andean carving of Christ, the other a more traditional Spanish version. A small army of top-notch guides wait at the entrance to the complex and can guide you through all that you see in Spanish, English, French, Italian, or German. Their services are included in your admission price.
- Cost: S/13 or Boleto Integral
- Open: Daily 10-6
Get Advice From Other Travelers
- Car Rental in Cusco?
4 responses; most recent on 09/20/2008, 05:49 pm - Peru - binoculars for Machu Picchu?
11 responses; most recent on 09/18/2008, 08:10 am
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip >>
- Adventure Travel from
-
Galapagos & Peru Gold
$6,895
A fantastic 2 week combination of South America's... -
Galapagos & Peru Silver
$3,195
Experience Darwin's enchanted islands...... -
Peru - Inca Trail
$2,195
Featuring world renouned Inca Trail hike to...
Buy the Guidebook
-
$27.95
-
$19.95
Get the Fodor's Newsletter
Read the current issue
For more travel ideas, tips, and deals, sign up for the Fodor's newsletter here. Browse previous issues.
