The Cathedral of Arequipa

La Catedral - The Cathedral, occupies a whole side on the Main Square of Arequipa. It is built in sillar – a white stone of volcanic origin and is of neo Renaissance style, with two streamlined towers and one Gothic vault. In its interior, there is an organ from Loret in Belgium. The carved wood pulpit stands out in its interior made by Boisini-Rigot, of Lille (France), in 1879.

It is one of the most representative monuments of Arequipa and one of the maximum expressions of the neo Classic architecture in Peru. Its construction began in 1621, although it was only finished in 1656.
Its original design was seriously affected by a voracious fire in 1844 and several later earthquakes. These events forced a deep restoration of the temple in 1868, done by the architect Lucas Poblete. After the works the temple maintained its beautiful façade with white sillar (slates of volcanic stone), crowned by two streamlined towers of 28 metres of height.

The architectonic set makes an impression by its great dimensions (It occupies an entire length of the Plaza de Armas Main Square) and invites to discover its interior richly ornamented with wood carvings, marble from Carrara and a splendid ashlar masonry.

In June of 2001 a strong earthquake damaged its towers seriously, so much that one of them irremediably collapsed, causing stupor and sadness in the frightened population. The faithful arequipeño people with their indomitable character and iron fighting spirit hurriedly reconstructed their city, including the beautiful bell tower.
The Cathedral of Arequipa is located on the Plza de Armas Main Square and opens its doors from Mondays to Saturdays from 7:00 hours to the 11:30 hours and from 17:00 hours to the 19:30 hours; Sundays from 7:00 hours to the 13:00 hours and from 17:00 hours to the 19:00 hours.