La Compañía de Arequipa: the church where Andean stonemasons carved their own world into European Baroque
Sulla Plaza de Armas di Arequipa, in Perù, la costruzione dell’attuale chiesa della Compagnia di Gesù iniziò nel 1590, dopo che un primo tentativo, avviato nel 1578 dall’architetto Gaspar Báez, fu distrutto dal terremoto del 1582; un secondo terremoto, nel 1687, danneggiò nuovamente l’edificio, la cui elaborata facciata principale fu ricostruita e completata nel 1698. La chiesa è interamente costruita in sillar, la pietra vulcanica bianca porosa e facile da scolpire che dà ad Arequipa il soprannome di “Città Bianca”. La facciata è considerata uno degli esempi fondamentali, se non l’esempio per eccellenza, del cosiddetto barocco meticcio: uno stile che fonde la struttura architettonica barocca europea con motivi decorativi andini e indigeni, tra cui flora e fauna tropicale e figure come sirene, scolpiti a bassorilievo da scalpellini criolli e indigeni che vi incorporarono la propria sensibilità visiva. Accanto alla chiesa si trova la Cappella di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola, del XVII secolo, soprannominata popolarmente la “Cappella Sistina di Arequipa”: la sua cupola e le pareti sono interamente ricoperte da affreschi raffiguranti una scena di giungla amazzonica, con liane, fiori tropicali, frutti e uccelli variopinti, un riflesso della presenza missionaria gesuita nell’Amazzonia. La chiesa fa parte, insieme al resto del centro storico, del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO “Centro storico della città di Arequipa”, iscritto nel dicembre 2000. I chiostri adiacenti, del XVIII secolo, ospitano oggi negozi di artigianato, gioiellerie e boutique di alpaca e vigogna.
About La Compañía de Arequipa
On Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas in Peru, construction of the current Church of the Society of Jesus began in 1590, after an earlier attempt, started in 1578 by the architect Gaspar Báez, was destroyed by the 1582 earthquake; a further earthquake in 1687 damaged the building again, and its elaborate main facade was rebuilt and completed in 1698. The church is built entirely of sillar, the porous white volcanic stone, easy to carve, that gives Arequipa its nickname “the White City.” The facade is regarded as one of the foundational, if not the definitive, examples of mestizo Baroque art: a style fusing European Baroque architectural structure with Andean and Indigenous decorative motifs, including tropical flora and fauna and figures such as mermaids, carved in low relief by criollo and Indigenous stonemasons who incorporated their own visual sensibilities into the Spanish architectural forms. Adjoining the church stands the 17th-century Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, popularly nicknamed “the Sistine Chapel of Arequipa”: its dome and walls are entirely covered in murals depicting an Amazonian jungle scene, with vines, tropical flowers, fruit and brightly coloured birds, reflecting the Jesuit order’s missionary presence in the Amazon. The church forms part, together with the rest of the historic centre, of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of the City of Arequipa,” inscribed in December 2000. The adjoining 18th-century cloisters today house craft shops, jewellers and alpaca and vicuña boutiques.
Key facts
- 1590: construction of the present church begins, after an earlier attempt was destroyed by earthquake in 1582
- 1698: the elaborate main facade rebuilt and completed after 1687 earthquake damage
- Built of sillar, the white volcanic stone giving Arequipa its “White City” nickname
- A landmark example of mestizo Baroque architecture and decoration
- Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola: a 17th-century Amazonian jungle-themed painted interior
- 2000: becomes part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of the City of Arequipa”
History
La Compañía’s carved facade stands as one of the clearest surviving expressions of mestizo Baroque art, a colonial-era style in which Indigenous and criollo stonemasons reshaped European Baroque forms according to their own Andean visual traditions, producing a distinctive artistic language found nowhere else in quite the same form. The adjoining Chapel of Saint Ignatius’s jungle-themed murals extend this same fusion into paint, connecting Arequipa’s highland Jesuit community visually to the order’s missionary reach across the Amazon basin.
What you see
The church’s white sillar facade, completed in 1698, displays dense Baroque relief carving blending European architectural framing with Andean decorative motifs, a hallmark of the mestizo Baroque style. Inside, gilded altarpieces lead toward the adjoining Chapel of Saint Ignatius, its dome and walls covered in vivid murals of an Amazonian jungle scene unlike anything else in Arequipa’s colonial-era architecture.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily with seasonal variation; admission fee applies for some chapel areas; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru
Getting there
La Compañía de Arequipa stands on the southeast corner of the Plaza de Armas, easily reached on foot within the historic centre. GPS: 16.4000° S, 71.5367° W.
Nearby
- Arequipa Cathedral — the city’s main cathedral, on the same square
- Santa Catalina Monastery — the famous walled convent complex, a short walk away
- Plaza de Armas de Arequipa — the historic city’s main square
Sources
- Wikipedia (Spanish) — “Iglesia de la Compañía (Arequipa)” (es.wikipedia.org)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “Historic Centre of the City of Arequipa” (whc.unesco.org)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — “Latin American art — The Mestizo style” (britannica.com)
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