Convent of Santo Domingo, Cusco

The Convent of Santo Domingo is a convent of the Dominican Order in the city of Cusco, Peru, built on the Coricancha[1] which was the most important temple of the Inca Empire capital.[2]

Facade of the convent and the Coricancha
Convent of Santo Domingo in 1877 by Ephraim George Squier
Court of Convent of Santo Domingo and Ancient Inca Fountain, ca. 1877, Ephraim George Squier

History

It was Juan Pizarro,[3] brother of Francisco, who gave to the congregation the land of the aboriginal temple, after receiving it in the distribution of lots that took place in October 1534, founded in the same year, it was the first Dominican convent in Peru. The first convent was completed in 1610.[4]

The first prior of the Convent of Santo Domingo was Friar Juan de Olías,[3] who came to occupy it with a group of missionaries from Mexico. The convent completely collapsed during the earthquake of 1650.[4]

In 1680 the construction works of the current convent begin, being its patrons Diego López de Zúñiga and Antonio de Allende, and the architects of the work were Martín Gonzales de los Lagos, Sebastián Martínez and Pedro de Mesa, and part of the choir was built by Francisco Domínguez de Arellano,[4] completing the convent with the completion of the Baroque bell tower in the early 18th century.[4]

The earthquake of 1950 severely affected the bell tower and the apse chapel that were promptly restored.[4][5]

Description

Much of the Coricancha temple was used for the construction of the convent.[3] The church of three naves[3] has a dome, a beautiful stalls for the choir carved in cedar, the walls being adorned with Sevillian azulejos.

Museum

There is a museum inside the convent that is divided into four areas:[6]

  • The Coricancha.
  • Cusco School collection: the art gallery of viceregal art, shows, in two rooms, paintings and religious sculptures of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
  • Contemporary art collection: modern works of art acquired by the museum.
  • "Colección Ganadores de Concursos del Convento": modern works of art that have obtained the major recognition in the “Predicarte” and “Concurso Navideño de Arte” contests organized by the Convent of Santo Domingo - Qorikancha to promote art in the city.
  • Courtyard
  • Apse chapel close up
  • Main portal
  • Other portals
  • Cloister
  • Ceiling
  • Cusco School paintings
  • Carving detail
  • Remains of wall painting
  • An 18th century painting in the interior
  • Exterior view of the remains of the Coricancha

See also

References
  1. Ephraim George Squier (1877). Peru; incidents of travel and exploration in the land of the Incas. London: MacMillan and Co. p. 429. ISBN 1296850730.
  2. Fodor's Travel Guides (2015). Fodor's Peru: with Machu Picchu & the Inca Trail.
  3. Alfredo Benavides Rodríguez (1988) [1941]. La arquitectura en el Virreinato del Perú y en la Capitanía General de Chile (Third ed.). Chile: Editorial Andrés Bello. pp. 31–32.
  4. Mario R. Castillo Centeno; Elizabeth Kuon Arce (2017). "Cusco: Ciudad, Valle, Departamento. Guía de Arquitectura y Paisaje" (PDF). Seville, Cusco: Regional Government of Andalusia. pp. 131, 138, 343, 344. ISBN 978-84-8095-592-8.
  5. "City of Cuzco - Integrity". UNESCO World Heritage website.
  6. "Colecciones". Museum of the Convent of Santo Domingo - Qorikancha.

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