Monasterio de Santa Catalina

Here we go, with some of my favorite pictures from Peru, from one of my favorite places we visited: The Monastery of Santa Catalina in downtown Arequipa.

A little history before the photography eye-candy:

Shortly after the Spanish invasion of Peru, the founding fathers of Arequipa decided their new city needed a convent. In 1580 a new monastery was built and a wealthy widow decided to move in and become the first resident, and the first prioress. Most likely due to her social connections and class standing, many of the novices she attracted came from the wealthy families of Peru's elite, along with some Incan chieftain's daughters. Girls used to the good life don't always like to leave it behind, despite the ardor of their faith. Many of these novices brought along their servants, slaves, and the fine accoutrements of life they were used to: silver cutlery, porcelain, plush carpets, and European furniture. Not content to just whisper vespers, the women continued to be engaged in their wealthy social circles: parties, musicians, and private visitors were the norm in the monastery.

This happy double-life continued for generations. As the monastery grew and became wealthier from the dowries of its novices, private chambers were erected, so the nuns had their own private gardens, kitchens, and multi-room apartments. It grew so large, about 20,000 square meters, that it took up an entire city block and became a city within a city. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that the Vatican realized the Arequipa nunnery was more a soirée than a place of religious devotion, and a strict Dominican nun was sent over to clean the place up. Too bad, I say: I'm rather jealous of their lives; sounds like a nice arrangement!

Over the years, without the dowries, the monastery never modernized, and entering it today, I felt like I was stepping back into the 16th or 17th century. It was only in the 1970s that the monastery was electrified, and because the nuns had no funds to comply with this new mandatory city code, they opened up the monastery to the public, and have now retired to a small, private section. From a peak of 450 nuns plus servants, there are now about 20 or 30 nuns still practicing their faith in this monastery with a most colorful history.

Now, some pictures. This place is a photographer's dream. You'll see what I mean. I took close to 100 pictures, spending the entire day here. We were also quite lucky as there were very few other visitors that day, so none of our photos were marred by the presence of tourists, and we were free to wander around, get lost, and enjoy the silence and beauty of the place.

One is instructed to be silent, upon entering the first courtyard.

One of the many alleyways, or streets, connecting the various courtyards and nuns' private apartments.

Here is one of the dwellings. Many are still furnished, and the one above shows the simplicity that some nuns lived in. Other apartments were decorated quite lavishly, with velvet-covered furniture and china cabinets filled with fine porcelain.

Above is one of the many private apartment kitchens, still covered with soot. 

The placement of flowers and plants was seemingly random, yet here there seemed to be an art to it. Everywhere I turned, either the architecture, the play of light, or the placement of flowers, captured my eye.

The blue walls were my favorite. Such an intense, rich, saturated blue.

We had such a fantastic day here, pretending to be professional photographers while our imaginations ran wild envisioning the colorful lives of the early nuns.

And to end a most perfect day: a very late lunch at probably the finest restaurant in Arequipa, the Trattoria del Monasterio, a very small restaurant attached to the monastery. Here I enjoyed my belated birthday lunch, with what were soon-to-be addicting pisco sours and just a hint at the marvelous cuisine that Peru had to offer us.