Santa Catalina

I’ll write a longer entry on Arequipa later, but I wanted to devote some space specifically to the city’s Santa Catalina Monastery.  It was founded in 1579 (Arequipa was founded only 40 years prior) and named after Saint Catherine of Siena.  The nuns were fully cloistered, so they never returned to their original homes.  (Apparently, it used to be a place where prominent families would send their daughters, a practice that was very socially admired.  What we found crazy was that the daughters’ female servants had to accompany them to the convent and therefore also abide by the rules of isolation—talk about above and beyond your job description!)

While the convent is still in use, it was finally opened to the public in 1970 (after almost 400 years) and is on several lists of places to see before you die.  I can see why—it’s beautiful!  The main building material is a white volcanic stone called Sillar, which is used throughout Arequipa, and this gives the structure’s walls an interesting texture.  The colonial architecture, serene courtyards, and rich colors made it almost impossible to stop taking pictures…as you can see by the amount I included here.  (My attempts at picking and choosing failed, which is why this place got its own post.)  Emily has visited it at night before and said it was a little spooky—I can imagine after seeing the graphic statues in some of the rooms—but during the day it just felt peaceful and sheltered.  Enjoy the photos, and feel free to email me if you have questions about any of them.

(FYI: The two rows of tubs were used for laundry, and the photo of the bell tower is meant to show the dog on the roof--a common sight in Peru.)