Much of the colonial city of Arequipa – Ciudad Blanca known as (White City) because of its fine Spanish houses from the XVI and XVII century – is hidden behind the massive walls. Nothing prepares stranger who comes across the biggest secret of this lovely city, world Monasterio de Santa Catalina, a miniature city within a city, which is open to the public only in 1970, few adults Dominicans nuns still live here, moved in the northern part of the monastery, but the remaining land can be visited. Centuries, this quiet, self-closed community was home to rich women who have never left the place, as would demonstrate Cemetery. Area as a whole urban district, the original monastery was built in 1580 and soon acquired a reputation as one type of selected club where girls from aristocratic families come to educate, because a safe harbor life or spiritual vocation (some with maids, slaves, a large dowry and luxurious lifestyle). Maximum of 450 women living here, only one third were actually nuns until around the end of the nineteenth century, when circumstances switch back to the religious life. Today, when the winds twist streets around the monastery, admiring the painted buildings in pastel colors, the suspension of tiny squares and visit the simple rooms, you come back in an earlier, less sophisticated era.
Best time: at 2313 meters above sea level, Arequipa enjoys eternal spring. August 15 is the day of the founding of the city, with processions, celebrations and concerts in the monastery.
Tags: Ciudad Blanca, Monasterio, Monasterio de Santa Catalina, Santa Catalina
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