Andahuaylillas
The Church of Saint Peter the Apostle in Andahuaylillas has more gold than I’ve ever seen in a church.
The Sistine Chapel of the Americas
The Church of Saint Peter the Apostle in the village of Andahuaylillas is called the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas” because of the extensive frescoes that date back to the 17th century. The church is also one of four examples of Andean Baroque architecture and an important part of the Ruta del Barroco Andino.
The frescoes outside the church are very well preserved, especially considering the harsh radiation they’re exposed to so close to the equator and at about 11,000 feet above sea level.
Events in Andahuaylillas
The week before Easter is known as Semana Santa in Peru and many churches have events every day. I went to see Ivan Zignaigo perform 17th century music on the recently restored 17th century organ in Andahuaylillas. Ivan Zignaigo is a musician, researcher, composer, director, pianist, organist and expert in restoring musical instruments. You can see some of his concerts and learn about his music on his YouTube channel.
Taking photos or video, with or without flash, is prohibited at the church, but if you go for an event it’s allowed. I was very lucky to be able to take photos inside the church during Ivan’s performance both of the musicians and singer Sara Barreto Castro, and also of the church itself. The Kukulis Ensamble of Cusco also played with Ivan and Sara. You can learn more about their music on the Kukulis Instagram.
Andean Baroque
This extraordinary church was built by Cusqueñian families in the late 16th century but the murals weren’t finished until the early 17th century, as one mural was signed by the artist Luis de Riaño in 1626. By that point in history, many of Cusco’s richest and most influential families had converted to Catholicism and were instrumental in converting many other communities in the mountains around Cusco.
The Church of Saint Peter the Apostle of Andahuaylillas is one of four Jesuit churches that make up the Ruta del Barroco Andino. The other three are the Church of the Society of Jesus in Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, the Chapel of the Purified Virgin of Canincunca and the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Huaro. All four of these churches can be visited in a single day and many tour companies in Cusco sell tours that include all four.
Every inch of the ceiling is richly painted with frescoes and gilded with locally made gold leaf. From a distance, the plaster-covered roof beams look like ripples in the ceiling.
After the concert, the congregation carried two statues representing Christ bearing the cross and the Virgin Mary out of the church and around the plaza. The women carried the Virgin Mary around one side of the plaza and the men carried Christ around the other so they met on the far side of the plaza then went back to the church together through the middle of the plaza.
How to get there?
Besides the Church of the Society of Jesus in Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, the other churches are south of Cusco. Andahuaylillas, Huaro and Canincunca are important stops on the route from Cusco to either Puno and Lake Titicaca, or to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest around Puerto Maldonado.
Cusco’s South Valley gets a small fraction of the tourists who go to the Sacred Valley north of Cusco, mostly because marketing for tourism in Peru is so focused on Machu Picchu, which is north of Cusco. That makes everything on the map above “hidden gems” though they’re hiding in plain sight.
