thumb|right|290px|The Major cloister of Santa Catalina Monastery.

The Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena is a large monastery of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. It was consecrated in 1579 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa".

Location

thumb|left|Exterior wall of the Monastery of Santa Catalina.

The citadel was located in the south of Peru in the city of Arequipa, founded on September 10, 1579, and located in an area that stands out for its natural beauty, welcoming climate and that has a great material with which the architecture of this city is built and continues to be built, the tuff. In the monastery there are two types, the white tuff, which comes from the Chachani volcano, and the pink one from the Misti, the latter emblem of the city.

The citadel signed by the Cabildo, the city regiment and the bishopric of Cusco, naming María de Guzmán as the "First settler and prioress of said Monastery". On October 2, 1580, date on which the first monastery was completed, a high mass is held in the city so that from that day the habits will be taken.

Its first facilities were destroyed in 1600 and 1604 by earthquakes,

In culture

The Santa Catalina monastery features in some detail in the second half of The Book of Human Skin by Michele Lovric.

Patrick Leigh Fermor visited the monastery on 27 August 1971, and wrote of his impressions in the third of his Three Letters from the Andes (1991).

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File:Alley Monastery Santa Catalina Arequipa Peru.jpg|One of the many alleys within the monastery.

File:Arequipa-sta-catalina-c06.jpg|Convent of Santa Catalina.

File:PMa PE 043 Arequipa.jpg|Detail of the Major cloister

File:ConventodeSantaCatalina.JPG|Fountain at the Convent of Santa Catalina.

File:White part of Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa.jpg|White street with red geraniums in the monastery

File:Red part of Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa.jpg|Red street in the monastery

File:Arequipa-sta-catalina-c03.jpg|Santa Catalina Monastery.

File:Arequipa 2007 12.jpg|Cloister de los Naranjos

File:Fuente del convento de Santa Catalina de Arequipa.jpg|Fountain of the monastery

File:Saint Catherine as a child sees Jesus Pontiff (1631) (Monastery of Santa Catalina, Arequipa, Peru).jpg|"Saint Catherine as a child sees Jesus Pontiff", painted in 1631, part of the museum collection.

File:Arequipa, Santa Catalina Monastery (5).jpg|Colonial museum

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See also

  • Ana de los Angeles Monteagudo

References

  • Monastery of Santa Catalina website

Sources

  • Lonely Planet Peru (2004). Charlotte Beech and Rob Rachowiecki. Lonely Planet Publications.
  • Santa Catalina Official Site (Spanish & English)
  • Photos of Santa Catalina Monastery (English)