Knowing the history of Cusco up close is really something magnificent and even more if you visit it, you get to feel it, observe it in detail all this is more grandiose, so I invite you to visit each of the churches that are in the city of Cusco, we can start routing by the church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, Cusco.
In this article I will tell you a little of its history, about its architecture, the things you can see and do before visiting it, so that when you are there you already have an idea of what each object is, each painting and which places are sacred, in short…. every tourist site has a lot to teach us.
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As we know, before the church of Santo Domingo was built, this place was a Temple of the Sun or called Qoricancha where the Incas worshipped the Sun God. With the arrival of the Spaniards what they did was that the Incas or their believers did not pray to their idols but to the God that they had imposed.
In order to substitute the Inca gods for those of the west, they built the church of Santo Domingo on top of the Inca temple, the place belonged to Juan Pizarro (brother of Francisco Pizarro) who gave the place to the congregation of the Dominicans in 1534.
This construction was carried out in the sixteenth century and to conclude it took about a hundred years (seventeenth century), but it should be noted that some parts of the Qoricancha were not destroyed as happened with other temples, but the structure was exposed, which is why today this is part of its tourist attractions.
During the time of construction, the temple suffered damages in its construction by the earthquake that shook the whole city, in this case the tower that is seen now is a century later. It also has a bell tower that stands out and contrasts in the tower, it has the baroque style.
About its architecture the church and convent of Santo Domingo are unified to the Inca building called Qoricancha that forms in its totality a unique and historical beauty. Regarding its shape, it adopts the baroque style, a peculiar construction of the colonial period in the Peruvian territory.
As we know each church is characterized by its naves, Santo Domingo has three naves and the main one has the shape of a cross, in its façade we can appreciate some plateresque characteristics. As for the towers, they have a simple structure, but they stand out for their bell tower of eight arches separated by 28 Solomonic columns.
In the interior, like any other temple, it stands out for its altar covered with silver and decorated with at least 23 canvases surrounded by images of saints and virgins, in the central part is the effigy of Santo Domingo de Guzman.
Likewise, there are other images that stand out, for example, those of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Albert of Magno, the Virgin of Rosario, and the naves are decorated with canvases that belong to the Cusco school.
Let's not forget that next door is the Convent of Santo Domingo, this used much of the walls and structures of Qoricancha in order to build their patios, pools, balconies and more. The square is surrounded by a set of semicircular arches, when you enter through the corridors of the convent you will see some famous paintings and treasures of the place.
The garden is adorned with flowers, trees and you can still see the Inca walls. There is really a lot to see, you have to visit it and feel that energy, living history of Santo Domingo.
The most remarkable things we can see in this historic place are:
You can visit the church of Santo Domingo during mass hours, usually in the mornings between 7:00 and at night at 19:00 hours, to enter you do not have to pay some cost, but if you want to enter the Qoricancha if you have to pay an entrance ticket in the same place.
Do not miss the opportunity to know these magnificent destinations, our tourism agency Terandes has the experience and staff guaranteed to provide the tourism service, for more information on tours in Cusco, Machu Picchu, etc. do not hesitate to write to our WhatsApp or leave us a message to our email: ventas@terandes.com
