The "Casa del Moral" is a large ancestral house built around 1730 in Arequipa, Peru. Favored by tourists, it is one of the best and well-preserved samples of baroque-mestizo civil architecture in Peru. The name of the house derives from the emblematic presence of a centennial tree of "moras" (blackberries) in the center of the main patio of the large house.
In the main entrance we can found figures worked in white sillar ashlsr stone of volcanic origin, emphasising the heads of pumas with serpents in its heraldic mouths and several figures (crowns, shields, angels and castles). The ornamental exuberance extends into its interior of Spanish peninsular airs, where the period furniture becomes the pillar of the luxurious decoration, whereas the remarkable carvings that adorn the doors and windows of the main rooms, are an inspired complement.
A singular detail is the maps of America, drawn in the XVI Century, which are exhibited in one of its rooms.
The Casa del Moral has a collection of paintings from the "Escuela Cusqueña" (School of Cusco), a colonial artform. Its library contains more than 3,000 volumes, primarily hispanic literature. The recent restoration of the house was with the help of the Consul of England in Arequipa; the house is currently the property of the Peruvian bank Bancosur.
