Santa Catalina Monastery

Monastery Perù, Perù

The Monastery of Saint Catherine (Spanish: Santa Catalina) is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. The Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena was built in 1579 and is located in the historical center of Arequipa, Peru. It served as a cloister for Dominican nuns from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and still houses a small religious community today. The complex, which stretches over 20,000 square meters, is built from volcanic sillar stone and is organized into cloisters, living quarters, a plaza, a gallery, and a chapel. Environmental pollution has accelerated the deterioration of the structure as well as of the paintings and sculptures in the complex. Because sillar is a porous stone, air pollution and the presence of salts have caused cracks in the roof, a depletion of the mortar between joints in the walls, and the displacement of stones. Santa Catalina sits in a volcanic area that has a large amount of seismic activity. Although the monastery was restored after devastating earthquakes in 1958 and 1960, an earthquake in 2001 has left several areas severely damaged, including areas with valuable sculptures and paintings dating from the eighteenth century.