Convent of Santo Domingo, Cuzco (Peru) 1877 George Squier

Court of the Convent of Santo Domingo and Ancient Inca Fountain, Cuzco (Peru) 1877 George Squier

The Convent of Santo Domingo is a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

(or monastery) of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

in the city of

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), 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 list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Spanish colonists built it on top of

Coricancha Coricancha, Koricancha, Qoricancha or Qorikancha (''"The Golden Temple,"'' from Quechua ''quri'' gold; ''kancha'' enclosure) was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. It is located in Cusco, Peru, which was the capital of the empire. ...

, the most important Inca temple of the capital of the people's empire.

History

Juan Pizarro, brother of Francisco, gave the congregation this land containing the Inca temple. He had received the land in the distribution of lots that took place in October 1534. The congregation was founded that same year, and it was the first Dominican convent in what became Peru. Construction of the first convent building was completed in 1610. The first prior of the Convent of Santo Domingo was Friar Juan de Olías. He occupied it with a group of Dominican missionaries from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The convent completely collapsed during the severe damage of the May 12, 1650 Cusco earthquake. In 1680 construction of the current convent began, financially supported by

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

Diego López de Zúñiga and Antonio de Allende. The architects were Martín Gonzales de los Lagos, Sebastián Martínez and Pedro de Mesa. Part of the choir was built by Francisco Domínguez de Arellano. The convent (or monastery) was completed by addition of the Baroque bell tower in the early 18th century. The earthquake of 1950 severely affected the bell tower and the

apse chapel An apse chapel, apsidal chapel, or chevet is a chapel in traditional Christian church architecture, which radiates tangentially from one of the bays or divisions of the apse. It is reached generally by a semicircular passageway, or ambulatory, ext ...

. These were quickly restored.

Description

Spaniards ordered the

temple to be torn apart for materials to construct the convent. It was built on top of the remains of that Inca temple. The church of three naves has a dome, stalls for the choir carved in cedar, and walls adorned with Sevillian

azulejo ''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, resta ...

s, a kind of ceramic tilework.

Museum

Today a museum is operated inside the convent; it is divided into four areas: *The

. *

Cusco School The Cusco School (''Escuela cuzqueña'') or Cuzco School, was a Roman Catholic artistic tradition based in Cusco, Peru (the former capital of the Inca Empire) during the Colonial period, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It was not limited to ...

collection: the art gallery of viceregal art, shows, in two rooms, paintings and religious sculptures of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. *Contemporary art collection: modern works of art acquired by the museum. *''"Colección Ganadores de Concursos del Convento"'': modern works of art that have obtained the major recognition in the “Predicarte” and “Concurso Navideño de Arte” contests organized by the Convent of Santo Domingo - Qorikancha to promote art in the city.

Gallery

File:Nádvoří Qorikancha - Cusco - panoramio.jpg, Courtyard File:Cusco-coricancha-c01.jpg,

Apse chapel An apse chapel, apsidal chapel, or chevet is a chapel in traditional Christian church architecture, which radiates tangentially from one of the bays or divisions of the apse. It is reached generally by a semicircular passageway, or ambulatory, ext ...

close up File:Convento de Santo Domingo, Cusco, Perú, 2015-07-31, DD 66.JPG, Main portal File:Cuzco (Peru) (14899517548).jpg, Other portals File:Peru - Cusco 185 - exploring Qorikanca (8111206060).jpg, Cloister File:Exploring Cusco…around the Convento do Santo Domingo (8444505250).jpg, Ceiling File:Qurikancha 01.jpg,

paintings File:Peru - Cusco 179 - Qorikancha carving work (8111365883).jpg, Carving detail File:Cusco-coricancha-c02.jpg, Remains of wall painting File:Scene from the Life of Mary, anonymous 18th century, Convento de Santo Domingo del Cusco.JPG, An 18th century painting in the interior File:Coricancha, Cusco, Perú, 2015-07-31, DD 68.JPG, Exterior view of the remains of the Coricancha

References

External links