— Built in 1579, the Monastery of St. Catherine is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order located just a few blocks from the main plaza in Arequipa. Once you enter the monastery, its vivid colors (deep blues and striking reds) will surround you and take you along through various rooms comprising over 20,000 square meters in the complex. Presently, twenty nuns still live in the monastery in private quarters, and outside of those areas, the monastery is open to the public for visitation. The building takes advantage of the ample abundance of porous volcanic stones for its walls. The architectural style is primarily colonial with occasional accents of Spanish and native elements. As seen in these two photos, the intense red and blue colors dominate the walls.
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