The Church of San Francisco is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church located in the city of

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It was built on the southern part of the former Huacaypata (now part of

Plaza San Francisco Plaza San Francisco is a major urban plaza in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, La Paz, Bolivia, and a frequent location for political gatherings and protests. It is located in front of the Basilica of San Francisco, La Paz, Basilica of San Francisco ...

), near the Colegio Ciencias. Since 1972, the building has been part of the

Historic Centre of Cusco The Historic Centre of Cusco (, CHC), is the Historic district, historic city centre of the Peruvian city of Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. It consists of two areas: the first is the Cultural heritage of Peru, Monumental Zone establ ...

, designated as a Historic Monuments of Peru, Historic Monument of Peru. Additionally, in 1983, it was included in the city's historic area declared a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Franciscan friars arrived in

shortly after its Spanish foundation. In 1534, they settled in the San Blas district and built a small church under the orders of Friar Pedro Portugués. By 1538, they relocated to the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, taking over the former Inca palace of Qasana. Finally, in 1549, they moved to their current location, about 300 meters southwest of the Plaza de Armas, on land previously granted to

Hernando Pizarro Hernando Pizarro y de Vargas (; c. 1504 – c. 1578) was a Spanish conquistador and one of the Pizarro brothers who ruled over Peru. He was the only one of the Pizarro brothers who was not killed in Peru, and eventually returned to Spain. Piza ...

, where the Hospital of San Lázaro had been operating. In 1572,

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Francisco de Toledo Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of ...

ordered the construction of a church dedicated to

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

. The architect remains unknown, but Francisco Domínguez Chávez was recorded as the lead mason. The original structure was demolished in 1645 for modernization, but the

1650 Cusco earthquake Year 165 ( CLXV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Orfitus and Pudens (or, less frequently, year 918 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 165 for this year ...

destroyed most of the progress. The second church was completed in 1652.

Description

The church has a simple design compared to other churches in Cusco. It features a single tower with seven bells, including the second-largest in the city. The church is built in a Latin cross shape with three basilica-style naves. Inside, the high choir, carved in

cedarwood Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus ''Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only "true cedars". Many other species worldwide with similarly ...

in 1652, was crafted by Friars Luis Montes, Isidro Fernández Inca, and Antonio de Paz. It features images of 93 Catholic saints. The crypts beneath the church served as a burial site.

Architecture

The church's exterior features Romanesque elements, while its facade showcases the

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...

style.

Convent

Adjacent to the church is the Franciscan convent, originally built with four cloisters. The first houses the chapter room and sacristy. The second served—and still serves—as the location of Colegio San Francisco de Asís (Cusco). Briefly, in the 19th century, it also housed the Colegio Educandas. The third cloister was used as a novitiate, while the fourth was demolished after being ceded to the

Peruvian government The Republic of Peru is a unitary state with a multi-party semi-presidential system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The government is composed of three branches, being executive, judicial, and legisla ...

for the Colegio Ciencias, which remains on the site. Inside the convent is the enormous painting ''"Genealogy of the Franciscan Order,"'' measuring 12 meters in height and 9 meters in width. Painted by Juan Espinoza de los Monteros in 1699, it depicts 12 branches of the Franciscan Order, 683 figures, 224 coats of arms, and 203 biographical inscriptions.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Cusco Franciscan churches Roman Catholic churches completed in 1652 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Peru 1650s in Peru