An example of colonial architecture with a white ashlar facade and a richly decorated interior.
Once the Franciscans arrived in Arequipa in 1551, the church was erected poorly and provisionally, because in the place of the first church was the refectory. The neighbors of Arequipa requested the construction of a religious complex for the Franciscans. In 1569 a contract was signed with the architect Gaspar Baéz and the work began immediately, its walls were built of ashlar and its vaults of brick, of a single nave, like all the first churches of Arequipa, later the presbytery was added and finally the collateral naves at the expense of the canon D. Ignacio Gregorio de Adriazola.
The Convent, like the church, dates from the XVI century with large cloisters and silver jewels of religious art. An on-site museum, an interesting art gallery and a library with more than 20,000 volumes.
Located in the first block of Zela Street in Plaza San Francisco.
The church has a baroque pulpit decorated with a shortened relief and the front of the main altar is entirely embossed in silver, today it has been converted into a commercial center for handicrafts.
The part of the site museum has an interesting art gallery and a library with more than 20,000 volumes.
Monday to Saturday: 7:00 to 9:00 hrs and 17:00 to 20:00 hrs
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