Description of the attraction
Initially, the Church of Santa Maria was created as a parish - immediately after the founding of Trujillo (1535-1540). In 1616, the church was elevated to the rank of a cathedral by Pope Paul V, but three years later it was destroyed along with the entire city as a result of an earthquake in February 1619. The reconstruction of the church was entrusted to Bartolomeo de las Cuevas. But even this church building did not survive the devastating earthquake in February 1635. In 1647, the episcopate took more seriously the construction of a church building designed by the architect Francisco de Soto Rios, which was completed in 1666 by Francisco Balboa. This time, the architects tried to provide all the necessary measures for the stability of the building in order to withstand future earthquakes on the Peruvian coast.
In 1967, Pope Paul VI raised the status of the church to the Cathedral, but in 1970, due to an earthquake, part of the temple was seriously damaged: the dome, bell tower and altar. Two decades later, the building of the cathedral was completely restored.
The Cathedral of Santa Maria is famous for its altar - this huge white altar in the Baroque and Rococo style is covered with gold leaf, decorated with precious images and icons made by masters of the art schools of Cuzco and Quito. Its beauty and uniqueness can only be compared with the altar in the Cathedral of Cusco.
Visitors to Trujillo Cathedral can see a large collection of antique icons that adorns it: images of St. Dew, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Peter, St. John the Baptist, St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, St. Valentine. The vault and walls of the temple are decorated with frescoes depicting the apostles, the windows are stained-glass.
The Cathedral Museum, located inside the temple, houses valuable religious works of art. Especially valuable are paintings and sculptures of the Cusco school and artifacts of the colonial period, among which two canvases: "The Denial of Peter" and "John the Baptist".
Next to the Cathedral is the Archbishop's Palace.
