Cusco Cathedral
| Cusco Cathedral | |
|---|---|
Spanish:Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción del Cusco | |
 Main facade of the Cusco Cathedral. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| Year consecrated | 1668 |
| Location | |
| Location | Cusco,Peru |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Juan Miguel de Veramendi, Juan Correa, Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio,Francisco Becerra |
| Type | Basilica |
| Style | Renaissance,late Gothic,Baroque,Plateresque |
| Groundbreaking | 1249 |
| Completed | 1654 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | Southwest |
| Materials | Stone |
| Part of | City of Cuzco |
| Criteria | Cultural: iii, iv |
| Reference | 273 |
| Inscription | 1983 (7thSession) |
| Area | Latin America and the Caribbean |
TheCathedral of CuscoorCathedral Basilica of the Virgin of the Assumptionis the main temple of the city ofCusco,inPeruand houses the headquarters of theArchdiocese of Cusco.The Cathedral Basilica of Cusco, together with the Triunfo temple make up the Cathedral Complex, it is located in the northeast sector of the currentPlaza de Armas of Cusco.In the place that, during the Inca period, was occupied by both theSuntor Wassi(lit. "Government House" ) and theKisoarkanchaor Palace of the eighth IncaViracocha.The complex occupies an area of 3,920 square meters and is the most important religious monument in the Historic Center ofCusco.
Since 1972 the temple has been part of the Monumental Zone of Cusco declared as a Historical Monument of Peru.[1]Also, in 1983, being part of the historic center of the city of Cusco, it is part of the central zone declared by UNESCO asWorld Heritage Site.[2]
History
[edit]Kiswarkancha
[edit]The Incas built the temple known asKiswarkancha[3]on the main square in Cusco. It was theIncapalace ofViracocha,ruler of theKingdom of Cuscoaround a century before theSpanishcolonists arrived. The aboriginal name of this city wasQusqu.Although it was used inQuechua,its origin has been found in theAymara language.The word itself originated in the phrasequsqu wanka( "Rock of the owl" ), attending to the foundational myth of the Ayar siblings.[4]
Near to theKiswarkanchawas theSuntur Wasi,an armoury and heraldry centre for the Inca royalty.[3]When theSpanish conquistadoresarrived in Cuzco, they decided to take down the temple and build their Christian cathedral in that prominent site.
Basilica Cathedral of our Lady of Assumption
[edit]
... Well, this reaches me highly, existing, among the regions recently discovered under the auspices of the ever augustus emperor of the Romans, our very beloved sonCharles,who is at the same time king of Castile, León and Aragon, existing a region called Peru whose inhabitants are knowledgeable about the divine law, and in which region many Christian Indians live; and wishing the same Emperor and King Charles with religious affection, that in the aforementioned region of Peru, subject to his mandate, the cult of that most glorious name (Christ) of whom is the entire universe, and all its plenitude and everything in it exists; may its inhabitants be led to the light of truth and spread the salvation of souls; and also wishing that the city of Cusco located in the same region where there is already a Church under the title of Santa María, be elevated to the rank of City and Diocese and the former Church of Santa María to Cathedral Church. Given in Rome next to St. Peter year etc. February 13, one thousand five hundred thirty-six.
— Bull of the erection of the Cathedral Church and the Diocese of Cusco.
The Cathedral of Cusco is the result of various projects carried out by different architects who took over at the head of the works. The first cathedral in Cusco is theIglesia del Triunfo,built in 1539 on the basis of the palace ofViracocha Inca.At present, this church is an auxiliary chapel of the Cathedral.
The cathedral of Cusco, like that ofLima,is a temple with three naves with two more chapels and a flat front wall. (...) The three naves are of equal height, as in the cathedrals of Lima andJaén.This last one was the immediate precedent of the two Peruvian cathedrals.
— Extracted fromEl Arte Hispanoamericano(1988).[5]
In 1538, after the return ofVicente Valverdewith thecédulas realesthat recognized him asbishop of Cusco,he began the construction of a cathedral by order of erection on September 4, 1538. However, this work would remain in its infancy, as can be deduced from the response of theCabildo of Cuscoto the request of the Cathedral dean Luis de Morales, which indicated that the work would be suspended until the following summer. In the following years, given the narrowness of the assigned site, an attempt was made to move the cathedral first to the part that formerly corresponded to the Palace ofPachacuticalledQasanaand thatFrancisco Pizarroreserved for him (current Portal de Panes of the Plaza de Armas). However, that move was impossible because, in 1538, Pizarro had given that lot to theFranciscans.It was then sought to use the part of the oldCusipatawhere theHotel de Turistas del Cuscocurrently stands, but this idea was also discarded around the 1540s due to the opposition of theMercedarianswho had already occupiedthe site that they still occupy todayand who it would be very close to the cathedral.
Faced with this situation, at the initiative of the secondbishop of CuscoJuan Solano,theCabildodecided to purchase theAlonso de Mesalot adjacent to the one assigned for the construction of the cathedral and which corresponded to the old Kiswarcancha that was theViracochapalace. This decision was made on May 17, 1552.
Between the years 1560 and 1664 the Cathedral Basilica of this city was built. Its construction was entrusted to Juan Miguel de Veramendi in 1560, who was replaced one year later by Juan Correa who worked until 1564. This was followed by Juan Rodríguez de Rivera, Juan Cárdenas, Juan Toledano and Bartolomé Carrión. However, when ViceroyFrancisco de Toledoarrived in Cusco between 1570 and 1572, the construction of the cathedral was stopped. In 1615, Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio, an architect who followedVitruviusandGiacomo Barozzi,and an admirer of the sober and pure style (Herrerian style) established byJuan de HerrerainEl Escorial Monastery,took over the direction of the work, along withFrancisco Becerra.Under their direction, the Cathedral of Cuzco was completed in 1654.[6][5]
The1650 earthquakecaused little damage to the cathedral except for the collapse of the ribbed vault.[7]This earthquake motivated the change of the planes of the facade in its upper part and the suppression of the third body in the towers, which is why there is too much volume in the body, leaving the towers short, giving the appearance of solidity to the building.
The premieremassof the cathedral was on August 15, 1654 and its definitive consecration was on August 19, 1668 by the thirteenthbishop of CuscoBernardo de Isaguirre Reyes.[5]
The construction material was stone from nearby areas and red granite blocks were also reused from the fortress known asSacsayhuamán.
It was recognized as aBasilicaof the Catholic Church on February 8, 1928. The construction, with three naves, stands on a hall-type floor plan. A surprising detail is the fusion between the order of the capitals and friezes and the type of roof used: theribbed vault,characteristic of theGothic.This gives rise to a surprising amalgamation of styles, frequent in theBaroquestyle of Latin America. The famous image of theLord of the Earthquakesis venerated in the cathedral.
This cathedral, with aRenaissancefaçade andBaroque,late-GothicandPlateresqueinteriors,[5]has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial gold work. Equally important are its carved wooden altars.
Since in this city the painting on canvas of the famousCusco Schoolof painting was developed, the most important in Colonial America, important samples of local artists who follow this school can be seen precisely in the cathedral.
Architecture
[edit]
TheGothic-Renaissancestyle of the cathedral reflects that ofSpainduring the period of the Spanish conquest of South America and also Cusco.[9]There is also evidence ofBaroqueinfluence in the facade on thePlaza de Armas.
The Cathedral of Cusco has a rectangular basilica-type floor plan with three naves: the epistle nave, the gospel nave and the central nave, coinciding with the three doors on the façade. It has fourteen cruciform pillars that define the distribution of the twenty-four rib vaults, the largest being the entrance vault and the crossing. The 24 vaults are supported by basic structures made up of 21 stone arches and 32 semicircular arches. All these structures are made ofandesitestone (a fine-grained volcanic rock chemically and mineralogically similar todiorite)
The naves are covered withGothicribbed vaults,made from tiercerons joined together by spine and cross ribs and by ribs that draw circles and ogees. The chapels are covered with groin vaults.[5]
The Incas incorporated some of their religious symbolism into the cathedral, for example, the carved head of ajaguar(an important god or religious motif found widely through much of ancientPeru) is part of the cathedral doors.
Artwork
[edit]Much of the artwork in the cathedral originated from theEscuela Cuzquena(Cusco Schoolof art). This was a school that was built by theSpanishto educate theIncasand their descendants with the methods and disciplines ofEuropeanrenaissancestyleartwork.[3]This school was famous throughout the colonial Americas, but theQuechuapainters were limited to painting scenes of European andCatholicimportance. The restrictions imposed on theIncaartists meant that they were not permitted to sign their own artwork, so much of it is unidentifiable. Also participated whitecriollopainters. Here is a list of some of the most notable pieces found within the cathedral:
- PinturaSeñor de los Temblores.17th century large painting, which depicts the whole of Cusco during the 1650earthquake.Many of the townspeople can be seen carrying a crucifix (see the 'Cathedral Artifacts' section) around thePlaza de Armas,praying for the tremor to end.[10][11]
- Vicente de Valverde.A portrait of the friar who became a bishop at Cusco, after accompanyingFrancisco Pizarroon his conquests.
- Christ's 12 Parables.An incomplete collection of twelve paintings by the Quechuan artistDiego Quispe Tito.There were initially twelve canvases (completed in 1681) to depict the twelve months and zodiac symbols of the year, incorporating theparablesofJesusinto the pictures.[3]
Iglesia del Triunfo
[edit]
The Church of Triumph, to use its English translation, was built in 1538, just three years after theconquistadoressettled in Cusco. It was built overSuntur Wasi,which was an Inca ceremonial building adjoining the palace of Viracocha, in a similar way to the way that the cathedral is now adjoined to the earlierIglesia del Triunfo.[3]
The name of the Church of Triumph derives from the history of theSpanishsettlers in Cusco. At one point, presumably between 1533, and 1536, the Spanish were cornered by a besieging army of Incas, led byManko Inka.The final stand for the Spanish was in theSuntur Wasi,before its demolition, and just as it seemed that they were on the verge of defeat, the Spanish miraculously managed to drive back the Incas. TheCatholicconquistadoresattributed this victory to Saint James the Greater (the patron saint of Spain), who was reported at the time to descend from heaven to drive back the Incas.[3]This is why the church is called the Church of Triumph, and also why there is a statue of St. James atop a horse within the Church, depicting him slaying an Inca.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Relación de Monumentos Históricos del Perú(PDF).Lima:National Institute of Culture of Peru.December 1999.
- ^"Ciudad del Cusco".UNESCO World Heritage Convention website.
- ^abcdefCathedral,A Homage to the Mystical, Magical, most Famous and Oldest City of the American Continent
- ^Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (2007). "Cuzco: La piedra donde se posó la lechuza. Historia de un nombre."Andina (Lima)44: 143–174. ISSN 0259-9600.
- ^abcdeFernando Arellano (1988).El arte hispanoamericano.Universidad Catolica Andrés. p. 108.ISBN9802440175.
- ^"Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio".Spain:Real Academia de la Historia.
- ^Evonne Levy, Kenneth Mills (6 January 2014).Lexikon of the Hispanic Baroque: Transatlantic Exchange and Transformation.University of Texas Press.p. 58.ISBN978-0292753099.
- ^Élisée Reclus(1894).The Earth and his Inhabitants. South America.Vol. First.D. Appleton & Company.p. 339.
- ^"Cathedral of Cuzco"Archived2008-07-06 at theWayback Machine,Cusco-Peru
- ^Brian S. Bauer (2004).Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca(First ed.). Austin:University of Texas Press.pp. 107–108.ISBN978-0-292-75721-9.
- ^"Terremoto del Cuzco y procesión del Señor de los Temblores".ARCA - Arte colonial americano.
- Roman Catholic churches in Cusco
- Roman Catholic cathedrals in Peru
- 1538 establishments in the Spanish Empire
- Roman Catholic churches completed in 1538
- Roman Catholic churches completed in 1654
- Plateresque architecture in Peru
- Basilica churches in Peru
- Tourist attractions in Cusco Region
- 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Peru