La Compañía de Jesús: the church so grand it sparked a legendary rivalry with the cathedral next door
Sulla Plaza de Armas di Cusco, in Perù, la chiesa della Compagnia di Gesù sorge sull’Amarucancha, il “recinto del grande serpente” in quechua, tradizionalmente identificato dai cronisti coloniali come il palazzo dell’inca Huayna Cápac: il viceré Toledo assegnò il terreno ai gesuiti dopo la conquista, e parte delle fondamenta incorpora ancora la muratura inca originaria. I gesuiti fondarono il collegio e la chiesa nel 1571, avviando la costruzione intorno al 1576; l’edificio andò distrutto dal terremoto di Cusco del 1650, e la ricostruzione, iniziata il 22 agosto 1651, portò a una nuova consacrazione il 24 luglio 1668, con lavori di finitura proseguiti fino al 1673. La chiesa è al centro di una celebre disputa storica, in parte leggendaria: nel 1656 l’avvocato Diego Arias de la Cerda contestò formalmente i piani gesuitici, giudicati troppo grandiosi rispetto alla vicina cattedrale, e il vescovo di Cusco fece appello contro una sentenza del viceré favorevole ai gesuiti presso la Real Audiencia, il tribunale coloniale; una versione popolare, cronologicamente impossibile, vuole invece che la disputa sia arrivata fino a Papa Paolo III a Roma — pontefice morto nel 1549, oltre un secolo prima di questi eventi — e va quindi considerata leggenda, non storia verificata. La facciata barocca, scolpita in pietra vulcanica rosata, è considerata tra le più belle dell’intera America coloniale, fiancheggiata da due torri campanarie; l’altare maggiore, alto circa 21 metri e largo 12, è interamente ricoperto di foglia d’oro con colonne tortili. All’interno si trova un celebre dipinto della Scuola Cuzqueña raffigurante il matrimonio tra Martín García de Loyola, nipote di sant’Ignazio di Loyola, e Beatriz Clara Coya, nobildonna inca, simbolo dell’unione tra le due stirpi. Dal 1983 la chiesa fa parte del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO della città di Cusco.
About La Compañía de Jesús
The Church of the Society of Jesus, on Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, stands on the Amarucancha, the “enclosure of the great serpent” in Quechua, traditionally identified by colonial chroniclers as the palace of the Inca ruler Huayna Cápac; Viceroy Toledo granted the land to the Jesuits after the conquest, and part of the church’s foundations still incorporate original Inca stonework. The Jesuits founded the college and church in 1571, beginning construction around 1576; the building was destroyed by the 1650 Cusco earthquake, and reconstruction, begun on 22 August 1651, culminated in a new dedication on 24 July 1668, with finishing work continuing until 1673. The church stands at the centre of a celebrated historical dispute, part fact and part legend: in 1656 the lawyer Diego Arias de la Cerda formally challenged the Jesuits’ building plans as too grand relative to the neighbouring cathedral, and the Bishop of Cusco appealed a viceregal ruling favouring the Jesuits before the Real Audiencia, the colonial high court — a dispute resolved locally, not in Rome. A popular but chronologically impossible version instead holds that the dispute reached Pope Paul III in Rome, who ruled in the cathedral’s favour; since Paul III died in 1549, over a century before these events, that detail should be treated as legend rather than verified history. The Baroque facade, carved in pink volcanic stone, is considered among the finest anywhere in colonial Latin America, flanked by twin bell towers; the main altarpiece, roughly 21 metres tall and 12 metres wide, is entirely covered in gold leaf with Solomonic columns. Inside hangs a celebrated Cusco School painting depicting the marriage of Martín García de Loyola, nephew of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, to Beatriz Clara Coya, an Inca noblewoman, symbolising the union of the two lineages. Since 1983, the church has formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “City of Cuzco.”
Key facts
- Amarucancha: built on the traditional site of Inca ruler Huayna Cápac’s palace
- 1571: the Jesuit college and church founded
- 1650: the church destroyed by the Cusco earthquake
- 1651-1668/73: reconstruction and dedication of the present Baroque church
- 1656: a documented local legal dispute over the church’s grandeur, later embellished into a legendary papal intervention
- 1983: becomes part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “City of Cuzco”
History
La Compañía’s construction directly atop the palace of an Inca emperor, incorporating original Inca stonework into its foundations, embodies the physical layering of Spanish colonial and Inca power characteristic of Cusco’s historic centre. The genuine 1656 legal dispute over the church’s scale, later transformed in popular memory into a legend involving direct papal intervention from Rome, illustrates how local colonial rivalries between religious orders could evolve into enduring civic folklore over the centuries that followed.
What you see
The church’s pink volcanic stone facade, carved in dense Baroque ornament between twin bell towers, ranks among the finest colonial church facades anywhere in the Americas. Inside, the gold-leaf-covered main altarpiece rises some 21 metres, while the Cusco School painting depicting the marriage of Martín García de Loyola and Beatriz Clara Coya remains one of the church’s most celebrated works of colonial art.
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
La Compañía de Jesús stands on the Plaza de Armas in central Cusco, directly facing the cathedral, easily reached on foot within the historic centre. GPS: 13.5175° S, 71.9783° W.
Nearby
- Cusco Cathedral — the historic rival across the same square
- Plaza de Armas de Cusco — the city’s main square, directly in front of the church
- Sacsayhuamán — the Inca fortress on the hills above the city
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, Cusco” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wikipedia (Spanish) — “Amarucancha” (es.wikipedia.org)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “City of Cuzco” (whc.unesco.org)
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