The Cathedral of Cusco or Cathedral Basilica of the Virgin of the Assumption is the main temple of the city of Cusco, in Peru and houses the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Cusco. The Cathedral Basilica of Cusco, together with the Triunfo temple make up the Cathedral Complex, it is located in the northeast sector of the current Plaza de Armas of Cusco. In the place that, during the Inca period, was occupied by both the Suntor Wassi (lit. "Government House") and the Kisoarkancha or Palace of the eighth Inca Viracocha. The complex occupies an area of 3,920 square meters and is the most important religious monument in the Historic Center of Cusco.
Since 1972 the temple has been part of the Monumental Zone of Cusco declared as a Historical Monument of Peru.[1] Also, in 1983, being part of the historic center of the city of Cusco, it is part of the central zone declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Site.[2]
History
Kiswarkancha
The Incas built the temple known as Kiswarkancha[3] on the main square in Cusco. It was the Inca palace of Viracocha, ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco around a century before the Spanish colonists arrived. The aboriginal name of this city was Qusqu. Although it was used in Quechua, its origin has been found in the Aymara language. The word itself originated in the phrase qusqu wanka ("Rock of the owl"), attending to the foundational myth of the Ayar siblings.[4]
Near to the Kiswarkancha was the Suntur Wasi, an armoury and heraldry centre for the Inca royalty.[3] When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Cuzco, they decided to take down the temple and build their Christian cathedral in that prominent site.
Basilica Cathedral of our Lady of Assumption
Colonial paintings in the interiorInterior of the cathedral and the late-Gothic image of the virginAltarpieceChurch of la Compañía de Jesús
... Well, this reaches me highly, existing, among the regions recently discovered under the auspices of the ever augustus emperor of the Romans, our very beloved son Charles, who is at the same time king of Castile, León and Aragon, existing a region called Peru whose inhabitants are knowledgeable about the divine law, and in which region many Christian Indians live; and wishing the same Emperor and King Charles with religious affection, that in the aforementioned region of Peru, subject to his mandate, the cult of that most glorious name (Christ) of whom is the entire universe, and all its plenitude and everything in it exists; may its inhabitants be led to the light of truth and spread the salvation of souls; and also wishing that the city of Cusco located in the same region where there is already a Church under the title of Santa María, be elevated to the rank of City and Diocese and the former Church of Santa María to Cathedral Church. Given in Rome next to St. Peter year etc. February 13, one thousand five hundred thirty-six.
—Bull of the erection of the Cathedral Church and the Diocese of Cusco.
The Cathedral of Cusco is the result of various projects carried out by different architects who took over at the head of the works. The first cathedral in Cusco is the Iglesia del Triunfo, built in 1539 on the basis of the palace of Viracocha Inca. At present, this church is an auxiliary chapel of the Cathedral.
The cathedral of Cusco, like that of Lima, is a temple with three naves with two more chapels and a flat front wall. (...) The three naves are of equal height, as in the cathedrals of Lima and Jaén. This last one was the immediate precedent of the two Peruvian cathedrals.
—Extracted from El Arte Hispanoamericano (1988).[5]
In 1538, after the return of Vicente Valverde with the cédulas reales that recognized him as bishop of Cusco, he began the construction of a cathedral by order of erection on September 4, 1538. However, this work would remain in its infancy, as can be deduced from the response of the Cabildo of Cusco to the request of the Cathedral dean Luis de Morales, which indicated that the work would be suspended until the following summer. In the following years, given the narrowness of the assigned site, an attempt was made to move the cathedral first to the part that formerly corresponded to the Palace of Pachacuti called Qasana and that Francisco Pizarro reserved for him (current Portal de Panes of the Plaza de Armas). However, that move was impossible because, in 1538, Pizarro had given that lot to the Franciscans. It was then sought to use the part of the old Cusipata where the Hotel de Turistas del Cusco currently stands, but this idea was also discarded around the 1540s due to the opposition of the Mercedarians who had already occupied the site that they still occupy today and who it would be very close to the cathedral.
Faced with this situation, at the initiative of the second bishop of CuscoJuan Solano, the Cabildo decided to purchase the Alonso de Mesa lot adjacent to the one assigned for the construction of the cathedral and which corresponded to the old Kiswarcancha that was the Viracocha palace. This decision was made on May 17, 1552.
Between the years 1560 and 1664 the Cathedral Basilica of this city was built. Its construction was entrusted to Juan Miguel de Veramendi in 1560, who was replaced one year later by Juan Correa who worked until 1564. This was followed by Juan Rodríguez de Rivera, Juan Cárdenas, Juan Toledano and Bartolomé Carrión. However, when Viceroy Francisco de Toledo arrived in Cusco between 1570 and 1572, the construction of the cathedral was stopped. In 1615, Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio, an architect who followed Vitruvius and Giacomo Barozzi, and an admirer of the sober and pure style (Herrerian style) established by Juan de Herrera in El Escorial Monastery, took over the direction of the work, along with Francisco Becerra. Under their direction, the Cathedral of Cuzco was completed in 1654.[6][5]
The 1650 earthquake caused little damage to the cathedral except for the collapse of the ribbed vault.[7] This earthquake motivated the change of the planes of the facade in its upper part and the suppression of the third body in the towers, which is why there is too much volume in the body, leaving the towers short, giving the appearance of solidity to the building.
The construction material was stone from nearby areas and red granite blocks were also reused from the fortress known as Sacsayhuamán.
It was recognized as a Basilica of the Catholic Church on February 8, 1928. The construction, with three naves, stands on a hall-type floor plan. A surprising detail is the fusion between the order of the capitals and friezes and the type of roof used: the ribbed vault, characteristic of the Gothic. This gives rise to a surprising amalgamation of styles, frequent in the Baroque style of Latin America. The famous image of the Lord of the Earthquakes is venerated in the cathedral.
This cathedral, with a Renaissance façade and Baroque, late-Gothic and Plateresque interiors,[5] has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial gold work. Equally important are its carved wooden altars.
Since in this city the painting on canvas of the famous Cusco School of painting was developed, the most important in Colonial America, important samples of local artists who follow this school can be seen precisely in the cathedral.
Architecture
Cathedral of Cusco in 1894 by Élisée Reclus.Cathedral of Cusco in 1900.
The Gothic-Renaissance style of the cathedral reflects that of Spain during the period of the Spanish conquest of South America and also Cusco.[9] There is also evidence of Baroque influence in the facade on the Plaza de Armas.
The Cathedral of Cusco has a rectangular basilica-type floor plan with three naves: the epistle nave, the gospel nave and the central nave, coinciding with the three doors on the façade. It has fourteen cruciform pillars that define the distribution of the twenty-four rib vaults, the largest being the entrance vault and the crossing. The 24 vaults are supported by basic structures made up of 21 stone arches and 32 semicircular arches. All these structures are made of andesite stone (a fine-grained volcanic rock chemically and mineralogically similar to diorite)
The naves are covered with Gothicribbed vaults, made from tiercerons joined together by spine and cross ribs and by ribs that draw circles and ogees. The chapels are covered with groin vaults.[5]
The Incas incorporated some of their religious symbolism into the cathedral, for example, the carved head of a jaguar (an important god or religious motif found widely through much of ancient Peru) is part of the cathedral doors.
Much of the artwork in the cathedral originated from the Escuela Cuzquena (Cusco School of art). This was a school that was built by the Spanish to educate the Incas and their descendants with the methods and disciplines of Europeanrenaissance style artwork.[3] This school was famous throughout the colonial Americas, but the Quechua painters were limited to painting scenes of European and Catholic importance. The restrictions imposed on the Inca artists meant that they were not permitted to sign their own artwork, so much of it is unidentifiable. Also participated white criollo painters. Here is a list of some of the most notable pieces found within the cathedral:
Pintura Señor de los Temblores. 17th century large painting, which depicts the whole of Cusco during the 1650 earthquake. Many of the townspeople can be seen carrying a crucifix (see the 'Cathedral Artifacts' section) around the Plaza de Armas, praying for the tremor to end.[10][11]
Vicente de Valverde. A portrait of the friar who became a bishop at Cusco, after accompanying Francisco Pizarro on his conquests.
Christ's 12 Parables. An incomplete collection of twelve paintings by the Quechuan artist Diego Quispe Tito. There were initially twelve canvases (completed in 1681) to depict the twelve months and zodiac symbols of the year, incorporating the parables of Jesus into the pictures.[3]
Iglesia del Triunfo
Facade of the Iglesia de El Triunfo (Church of The Triumph)
The Church of Triumph, to use its English translation, was built in 1538, just three years after the conquistadores settled in Cusco. It was built over Suntur Wasi, which was an Inca ceremonial building adjoining the palace of Viracocha, in a similar way to the way that the cathedral is now adjoined to the earlier Iglesia del Triunfo.[3]
The name of the Church of Triumph derives from the history of the Spanish settlers in Cusco. At one point, presumably between 1533, and 1536, the Spanish were cornered by a besieging army of Incas, led by Manko Inka. The final stand for the Spanish was in the Suntur Wasi, before its demolition, and just as it seemed that they were on the verge of defeat, the Spanish miraculously managed to drive back the Incas. The Catholicconquistadores attributed this victory to Saint James the Greater (the patron saint of Spain), who was reported at the time to descend from heaven to drive back the Incas.[3] This is why the church is called the Church of Triumph, and also why there is a statue of St. James atop a horse within the Church, depicting him slaying an Inca.
Cusco or Cuzco, is a city in southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; in 2017, it had a population of 428,450. Its elevation is around 3,400 m (11,200 ft).
Huayna Capac was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui., the sixth Sapa Inca of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. He was born in Tumipampa and tutored to become Sapa Inca from a young age.
Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Bastard son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) (1446–1522) who as colonel of infantry served in the Italian campaigns under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, and in Navarre, with some distinction, and María Alonso, from Trujillo. He was the half brother of Francisco and Hernándo Pizarro and the full brother of Juan Pizarro.
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish soldiers under conquistador Francisco Pizarro, along with his brothers and their indigenous allies, captured the Sapa Inca Atahualpa in the 1532 Battle of Cajamarca. It was the first step in a long campaign that took decades of fighting but ended in Spanish victory in 1572 and colonization of the region as the Viceroyalty of Peru. The conquest of the Inca Empire, led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia, as well as expeditions to the Amazon Basin and surrounding rainforest.
Manco Inca Yupanqui was the founder and monarch of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, although he was originally a puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known as "Manco II" and "Manco Cápac II". He was one of the sons of Huayna Capac and a younger brother of Huascar.
The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built between 1602 and 1797. It is dedicated to St John, Apostle and Evangelist.
Vicente de Valverde y Alvarez de Toledo, O.P., or Vincent de Valle Viridi was a Spanish Dominican friar who was involved in the Conquest of the Americas, later becoming the Bishop of Cuzco. He became the first resident bishop in South America. He was born in Oropesa, Spain, about 1495 and most sources claim he died on Puná Island, now part of Ecuador, in 1541, at the hands of the indigenous peoples.
The Incas were most notable for establishing the Inca Empire which was centered in modern day South America in Peru and Chile. It was about 2,500 miles from the northern to southern tip. The Inca Empire lasted from 1438 to 1533. It was the largest Empire in America throughout the Pre-Columbian era. At the peak of the Inca Empire, it was the largest nation in the world and to this day is the largest native state in the western hemisphere. The Inca civilization was located from north to south of the western hemisphere of South America. The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cuzco before 1438. Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate the territory of modern-day Peru, followed by a large portion of western South America, into their empire, centered on the Andean mountain range. However, shortly after the Inca Civil War, the last Sapa Inca (emperor) of the Inca Empire was captured and killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The remnants of the empire retreated to the remote jungles of Vilcabamba and established the small Neo-Inca State, which was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
The 10 month siege of Cusco by the Inca army under the command of Sapa Inca Manco Inca Yupanqui started on 6 May 1536 and ended in March 1537. The city was held by a garrison of Spanish conquistadors and Indian auxiliaries led by Hernando Pizarro. The Incas hoped to restore their empire (1438–1533) with this action, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.
Peruvian architecture is the architecture carried out during any time in what is now Peru, and by Peruvian architects worldwide. Its diversity and long history spans from ancient Peru, the Inca Empire, Colonial Peru to the present day.
The Cusco School or Cuzco School, was a Roman Catholic artistic tradition based in Cusco, Peru during the Colonial period, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It was not limited to Cusco only, but spread to other cities in the Andes, as well as to present day Ecuador and Bolivia.
The Battle of Ollantaytambo took place in January 1537, between the forces of Inca emperor Manco Inca and a Spanish expedition led by Hernando Pizarro during the Spanish conquest of Peru. A former ally of the Spaniards, Manco Inca rebelled in May 1536, and besieged a Spanish garrison in the city of Cusco. To end the stand-off, the besieged mounted a raid against the emperor's headquarters in the town of Ollantaytambo. The expedition, commanded by Hernando Pizarro, included 100 Spaniards and some 30,000 Indian auxiliaries against an Inca army more than 30,000 strong.
Muyuq Marka, also Muyuqmarka, is an archaeological site in Peru. It is the base of what was a round Incan tower, which is situated within the fortress Saksaywaman above Cuzco. It was used as a Temple of Inti, but became part of a complex of rectangular buildings which mostly still remain today. However, the temple and the two flanking towers were dismantled during the Spanish rule. What remains of Muyuq Marka indicates that it was "a round building with an open central court which had a fountain." The temple had triple walls, which were aligned with the zenith sunrise and the antizenith sunset.
The Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús is a historic Jesuit church in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, in Cusco Region, Peru. It is situated in the Plaza de Armas de Cusco, the city center. It is built on an Inca palace. It is one of the best examples of Spanish Baroque architecture in Peru. The architecture of this building exerted a great influence on the development of many Baroque architecture in the South Andes. Its construction began in 1576, but it was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1650. The rebuilt church was completed in 1673.
The Neo-Inca State, also known as the Neo-Inca state of Vilcabamba, was the Inca state established in 1537 at Vilcabamba by Manco Inca Yupanqui. It is considered a rump state of the Inca Empire (1438–1533), which collapsed after the Spanish conquest in the mid-1530s. The Neo-Inca State lasted until 1572, when the last Inca stronghold was conquered, and the last ruler, Túpac Amaru, was captured and executed, thus ending the political authority of the Inca state.
The history of Cusco (Peru), the historical capital of the Incas.
The Basilica of La Merced, also known as Convent of La Merced, is a minor basilica located in the city of Cusco, Peru. It is located 100 meters southwest of the Plaza de Armas in front of the Plazoleta Espinar. It belongs to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and has, annexes, both the convent and the premises of La Merced College. The church has a three-nave basilica plan covered with brick vaults and dome on the crossing, with Baroque altars on its lateral naves and Neoclassical style on the main altar. It also has a tower with Baroque bell tower topped with a semicircular dome. Highlights its portal-side reredos and the Renaissance portal of the muro de pies, the choir stalls, its colonial paintings and polychrome wood carvings. Inside rest the remains of Diego de Almagro, Diego de Almagro II and Gonzalo Pizarro.
The Convent of Santo Domingo is a convent of the Dominican Order in the city of Cusco, Peru. Spanish colonists built it on top of Coricancha, the most important Inca temple of the capital of the people's empire.
The Plaza de Armas of Cusco is located in the city of Cusco, Peru. Located in the historic center of the city is the main public space of the town since before its Spanish foundation in 1534.
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