Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ALEX E. PROIMOS/GETTY IMAGES ©
Don't Miss
Monasterio de Santa Catalina
Occupying a whole block in Arequipa is one of the most fascinating religious buildings in Peru. This convent -
really a 20,000-sq-meter citadel - is a disorienting place with twisting passageways, ascetic living quarters, period
furnishings and religious art. In other words: a photographer's paradise.
Santa Catalina was founded in 1580 by a rich widow, Doña María de Guzmán, who chose her nuns from only the
best Spanish families. Traditionally, going into a nunnery meant living a chaste life of poverty. However, in this
privileged convent, nuns had servants or slaves and would often invite musicians to parties. After three centuries of
these hedonistic goings-on, Pope Pius IX sent a strict Dominican nun to straighten things out. Sister Josefa Cadena
arrived like a hurricane in 1871, sending rich dowries back to Europe and freeing the myriad servants and slaves,
some of whom stayed on as nuns.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search