• Home
• South America
• Peru

Arequipa

Location: Arequipa Region Map

Travel Destinations in Arequipa

Beautiful colonial town of Arequipa is the capital city of Arequipa Region of Peru.

Santa Catalina Monastery (Arequipa)

Calle Santa Catalina 301, Arequipa

Tel. 054 229 798

Open: 9am- 4pm daily

www.santacatalina.org.pe

Monastery of Saint Catalina (Saint Catherine) is a Roman Catholic religious complex that belongs to the Dominican order. It was established in 1579 shortly after arrival of the armies of Spanish Conquistadors and settlers. Monastery of Saint Catalina was constructed thanks to donations of a rich widow Maria de Guzman.

According to the existing traditions at the time, the second son or a second daughter of a Spanish family had to dedicate their child to the service of the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally each family had to pay a dowry for admission of their daughters to the convent as they were said to engage with Christ. The amount of dowry could reach an incredible sum of 2,400 silver coins that is equivalent of about 150,000 dollars today. Families further donated carpets, silk curtains, dishes of English porcelain, jewels and many other valuable items. Every girl that entered the abbey had to bring 25 personal items including statues, paintings, lamps, clothing and etc. Monastery of Saint Catalina gained riches due to a fact that nuns here came from the high society of Spanish families. So every new nun would greatly increase the resources of the abbey.

Monastery of Saint Catalina was enlarged in the 17th century to a total area of 20,000 square meters as the city of Arequipa grew in size. Much of the Monastery of Saint Catalina was constructed in a so called Mudejar Architectural style with its destinct colored walls. During its heyday Monastery of Saint Catalina housed about 450 people, one third of its residents were servants and secular workers. In 1960 the abbey was badly damaged during two earthquakes. New living buildings had to be reconstructed for the nuns. Eventually the complex was reconstructed by Promociones Turisticas del Sur and World Monuments Fund. They also helped to add electrification and water supply to the Monastery of Saint Catalina. Today abbey is open to the public. Additionally a small community of 20 nuns live in the cells in the Northern part.

Cathedral of Arequipa