One of the most important religious monuments of colonial Peru is the Monastery of Santa Catalina, located just three blocks from the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa and is also considered one of the most beautiful in America.
Its construction dates back to 1579 and enlarged in the seventeenth century, has a similar distribution to that took the first quarters of the White City. Its approximately twenty thousand square meters, comprising a maze of small streets named after Spanish cities such as Malaga, Toledo, Granada, Seville, among others.
All these roads lead to a small square in the center has a refreshing pool. Furthermore, we find ashlar walls with bright colors and decorated with colorful flowers which are divided into "old convent" and "new monastery" cloisters. Their rooms were of different sizes, according to social status and the investiture of the nuns. And they had workshops for kitchen duties, nursing, laundry. etc.
Here 450 nuns lived over 400 years completely off from the world, not knowing what was going on inside. However, many fantastic stories circulated about the convent, wrapping it in an aura of mystery. But it was not until 1970 that its doors were open to the public.
Currently, the area north of the convent is inhabited by nuns, and the rest of the monastery can be visited freely.
Visitors can still perceive the atmosphere in the dining room of the Middle Ages, it may also appreciate a complete library and art gallery with works of the Cuzco school.
Highlights one of the cloisters belonged to Blessed Sister of the Angels Monteagudo, who was beatified in 1985 by Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Peru.
Meanwhile, the church takes a ship with dome and tower square, and its walls are adorned with Spanish Cuzco and priceless paintings.
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