Cusco Cathedral: built from the stones of an Inca fortress, home to a Last Supper served with roast guinea pig
Sulla Plaza de Armas di Cusco, in Perù, la Cattedrale della Vergine dell’Assunzione sorge sul sito di Kiswarkancha, il palazzo dell’inca Wiracocha, demolito dagli spagnoli dopo la conquista. Buona parte delle pietre utilizzate per costruirla furono estratte dalla vicina fortezza inca di Sacsayhuamán, smantellata blocco per blocco nei decenni successivi. I lavori iniziarono nel 1559 e si conclusero, secondo le fonti più comuni, intorno al 1654, con la consacrazione ufficiale nel 1668: quasi un secolo di costruzione, in uno stile che unisce la facciata rinascimentale a interni barocchi, tardogotici e plateresque. All’interno si trova uno dei capolavori più celebri della Scuola Cuzqueña, la corrente pittorica coloniale andina: l’Ultima Cena dipinta da Marcos Zapata intorno al 1753, in cui Cristo e gli apostoli siedono davanti a un cuy (porcellino d’India) arrosto, piatto tipico delle Ande, anziché l’agnello pasquale della tradizione europea. Nella torre campanaria è custodita la campana María Angola, tra le più grandi del Sudamerica, nella cui fusione, secondo la tradizione locale, sarebbe stato versato dell’oro donato dagli abitanti della città. Dal 1983 la cattedrale fa parte del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO della città di Cusco.
About Cusco Cathedral
Cusco Cathedral, formally the Basílica Catedral de la Virgen de la Asunción, stands on Cusco’s Plaza de Armas on the site of Kiswarkancha, the palace of the Inca ruler Wiracocha, which Spanish colonisers demolished following the conquest. Much of the stone used in the cathedral’s construction was quarried from the nearby Inca fortress of Sacsayhuamán, dismantled block by block over subsequent decades to supply building material for colonial Cusco — a striking physical continuity between the Inca and Spanish colonial city. Construction began in 1559 and, according to the most commonly cited sources, concluded around 1654, with the cathedral formally consecrated in 1668, representing nearly a century of building in a style blending a Renaissance facade with Baroque, late-Gothic and Plateresque interior elements across three naves with Gothic ribbed vaulting. The cathedral houses one of the most celebrated works of the Cusco School (Escuela Cuzqueña), the colonial-era Andean-Christian painting tradition that blended European religious subjects with Andean symbolism, colour and technique, largely produced by Indigenous and mestizo artists: Marcos Zapata’s Last Supper, painted around 1753, depicts Christ and the apostles gathered around a table centred on a roasted cuy, or guinea pig, a distinctively Andean dish standing in for the traditional paschal lamb of European Last Supper imagery. The cathedral’s bell tower holds María Angola, one of the largest bells in South America, whose casting in the 17th century is, according to local tradition, said to have included gold donated by residents of the city, giving the bell both its name and its legendarily far-carrying tone. Since 1983, Cusco Cathedral has formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the City of Cuzco.
Key facts
- Site: built over Kiswarkancha, the palace of the Inca ruler Wiracocha
- Stone: largely quarried from the dismantled Inca fortress of Sacsayhuamán
- 1559-c.1654: construction period, consecrated in 1668
- Marcos Zapata’s Last Supper (c. 1753): Christ and the apostles depicted with a roasted cuy at the centre of the table
- María Angola bell: one of the largest bells in South America, said by tradition to contain donated gold
- 1983: inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “City of Cuzco”
History
Cusco Cathedral’s construction directly atop a former Inca royal palace, using stone taken from one of the Inca empire’s most important fortifications, embodies the physical and cultural layering that defines colonial Cusco, where Spanish religious architecture rose quite literally from the dismantled remains of Inca power. The cathedral’s role as a principal repository of Cusco School painting reflects the broader artistic response of Indigenous and mestizo artists to Spanish colonial rule, producing a distinctive visual tradition that persisted for some three centuries and remains among the most studied bodies of colonial-era art in the Americas.
What you see
The cathedral’s Renaissance stone facade opens onto a three-naved interior combining Baroque, late-Gothic and Plateresque elements beneath Gothic ribbed vaulting, its walls hung with an extensive collection of Cusco School paintings including Marcos Zapata’s Last Supper and works attributed to Diego Quispe Tito. The bell tower houses the María Angola bell, while the cathedral’s silver-clad altars and elaborately carved choir stalls reflect the wealth accumulated by the colonial-era Church in the former Inca capital.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily with seasonal variation; admission fee applies; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru
Getting there
Cusco Cathedral stands on the Plaza de Armas in the heart of Cusco, easily reached on foot from anywhere in the historic centre. GPS: 13.5163° S, 71.9781° W.
Nearby
- Plaza de Armas de Cusco — the city’s main square, directly in front of the cathedral
- Church of the Society of Jesus (La Compañía) — another major Baroque church on the same square
- Sacsayhuamán — the Inca fortress that supplied the cathedral’s stone, on the hills above the city
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Cusco Cathedral” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wikipedia — “Cusco School” (en.wikipedia.org)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “City of Cuzco” (whc.unesco.org)
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