The Cathedral of Cuzco or Cathedral Basilica of the Virgin of the Assumption is the main temple of the city of Cuzco, in Peru and houses the headquarters of the Diocese of Cuzco. The Cathedral Basilica of Cuzco, next to the Temples of the Triumph and the Sagrada Familia make up the Cathedral Complex, is located in the northeast sector of the current Plaza de Armas of Cuzco. In the place that was the Suntur Wasi, Palace of the Inca Wiracocha. The complex occupies an area of ??3956 m2. It is the most important religious monument of the Historical Center of Cuzco
Between 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 two years later by Juan Correa. This was followed by other masters, until in 1615 Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio, an architect following Marco Vitruvio and Jacopo Vignola, and admirer of the sober and pure style established by Juan de Herrera in El Monasterio, took over the direction of the work. Dump. Under his direction, the cathedral of Cuzco was completed in 1649.
The building material was stone from nearby areas and red granite blocks were also reused from the fortress known as Sacsayhuamán.
This cathedral, with a Renaissance façade and Baroque, Late Gothic and Plateresque interiors, has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial goldwork. Carved wooden altars are equally important. Since in this city the painting on canvases of the famous Cuzquena School of Painting was developed, the most important of Colonial America, in the cathedral you can see precisely important samples of local artists who are followers of this school.
The Cathedral of Cuzco is of rectangular plant of the basilical type with three naves: nave of the epistle, nave of the gospel and the central nave, coincident with the three doors of the facade. It has fourteen cruciform pillars that define the distribution of the twenty-four rib vaults, the largest being the entrance vault and the crossing vault. The 24 vaults are supported by basic structures formed by 21 stone arches and 32 semi-circular arches. All these structures are of andesite stone.
Cusco leaves us awe-inspiring. The Cathedral is imposing in large and beautifully ornamented. The truth is worth pausing to observe.