Santa Catalina Monastery
Calle Santa Catalina 301. Visiting hours: Mon–Sun 9am to 4pm

Built in 1580 and further enlarged in the 17th century, the Monasterio de Santa Catalina is an almost 20,000 m2 cloistered convent that once housed approximately 450 people (one third of which nuns). Today, only 20 nuns live here, occupying a small corner of the complex; the rest of the monastery is open to the public.

Founded by Maria de Guzman, a rich widow, Santa Catalina was constructed to take in the daughters of the wealthiest Spanish families of the city, both them with a religious vocation or not. Indeed, the tradition of the time indicated that the second son or daughter of a family would enter religious service. In spite of the votes of poverty, however, each nun at Santa Catalina had between one and four servants or slaves, and the nuns invited musicians to perform in the convent, gave parties and generally lived a lavish lifestyle. In 1871 Sister Josefa Cadena, a strict Dominican nun, was sent by Pope Pius IX to reform the monastery. She sent the rich dowries back to Europe, and freed all the servants and slaves, giving them the choice of remaining as nuns or leaving.

The complex is predominantly Mudéjar style, a symbiosis of techniques and ways of understanding architecture resulting from Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures. More than a complex, however, Santa Catalina resembles a small village, complete with patios ornamented with fountains, chapels, cloisters, vividly painted walls and arches, and cobblestone streets.

An art gallery with paintings of the Cusco, Quito, and Arequipa Schools of Art partly occupies one of the 3 cloisters. The monastery also includes a pre-Colombian Museum and a cemetery.

With exceprts from Wikipedia and PromPeru.