Description of the attraction
Casa del Moral Mansion is a manor house built in 1730 and somewhat rebuilt after the earthquakes of 1784 and 1868, where several aristocratic families of the city of Arequipa lived. This building is currently owned by the BancoSur Monetary Fund.
This well-preserved colonial house is one of the examples of the 18th century Baroque architecture of Arequipa and is named after the old "moras" mulberry tree in the center of the courtyard. The facade of the building is made of cut stone, two angels are carved above the entrance, a crown on the coat of arms, a castle, birds, pumas and two crossed keys. There are beautiful carved windows on the side of the main façade.
The double doors of the main entrance of the mansion are decorated with nails with a lock, bolt and key, made of bronze. Walking along the wide hallway, visitors enter the main quadrangular courtyard. The pavement of the courtyard is made of hewn stone and boulders in the Arabian style and resembles a chessboard. As in all colonial houses of the 18th century, the mansion has three courtyards: the ceremonial courtyard is painted in ocher, and its public space is open to visitors. The blue courtyard was for private use, with an entrance to the kitchen and dining room. And the third courtyard is for servants, animals, and also for horses.
Visitors to the Casa del Moral can see a large reception room, a room for women, a dining room, a bedroom, a chat room, a library and two large rooms that house a collection of paintings. The hall that connects the first and second courtyards is called "the hall of old maps of America." It contains a valuable collection of ancient prints and maps compiled by renowned cartographers of the 16th and 17th centuries. The library contains over 3000 volumes, primarily of Latin American literature.
The recent restoration of La Casa del Moral was carried out with the financial assistance of the English Consul in Arequipa.
