Started in 1559 and taking almost a hundred years to build, the cathedral (Plaza de Armas; admis- sion S25 or with boleto religioso; h10am-5:45pm) squats on the site of Viracocha Inca’s palace and was built using blocks pilfered from the nearby Inca site of Sacsaywamán. The cathedral is joined with Iglesia del Triunfo (1536) to its right and Iglesia de Jesús María (1733) to the left. El Triunfo, Cuzco’s oldest church, houses a vault containing the remains of the famous Inca chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, who was born in Cuzco in 1539 and died in Córdoba, Spain, in 1616. His remains were returned in 1978 by King Juan Carlos of Spain. (For more on Garcilaso de la Vega, )The cathedral is one of the city’s greatest re- positories of colonial art, especially for works from the escuela cuzqueña (Cuzco school), noted for its decorative combination of 17th- century European devotional painting styles with the color palette and iconography of indi- genous Andean artists. A classic example is the frequent portrayal of the Virgin Mary wearing a mountain-shaped skirt with a river running around its hem, identifying her with Pachamama (Mother Earth). One of the most famous paintings of the escuela cuzqueña is The Last Supper by Quechua artist Marcos Zapata, which is found in the northeast corner of the cathedral. It depicts one of the most solemn occasions in the Christian faith, but graces it with a small feast of Andean cere- monial food; look for the plump and juicy- looking roast cuy (guinea pig) stealing the show with its feet held plaintively in the air.

Also look for the oldest surviving painting in Cuzco, showing the entire city during the great earthquake of 1650. The inhabitants

can be seen parading around the plaza with a crucifix, praying for the earthquake to stop, which miraculously it did. This precious cru- cifix, called El Señor de los Temblores (The Lord of the  Earthquakes), can  still be  seen in  the alcove to the  right  of  the  door  leading  into El Triunfo. Every year on Holy Monday, the Señor is taken out on parade and devotees throw ñucchu flowers at him – these resemble droplets of  blood  and  represent  the  wounds of his crucifixion. The flowers leave a sticky residue, to which the smoke of the countless votive candles lit beneath him sticks:  this  is why he’s now black. Legend has it that under his skirt, he’s still as lily white as the day he was  made.

The sacristy of the cathedral is covered with paintings of Cuzco’s bishops, starting with Vicente de Valverde, the friar who accompa- nied Pizarro during the conquest. The cruci- fixion at the back of the sacristy is attributed to the Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, though some guides claim it to be the work of the 17th-century Spaniard Alonso  Cano. The original wooden altar is at the very back of the cathedral, behind the present silver altar, and opposite both is the magnificently carved choir,  dating  from the  17th century. There are also many glitzy silver  and  gold side chapels with elaborate platforms and al- tars that contrast with the austerity of the cathedral’s   stonework.

The huge main doors of the cathedral are open to genuine worshippers between 6am and 10am. Religious festivals are a superb time to see the cathedral. During the feast of Corpus Christi (p240), for example, it is filled with pedestals supporting larger-than- life statues of saints, surrounded by thousands of candles and bands of musicians honoring them with mournful Andean tunes.