Santa Catalina Convent
Among the sights to see in Arequipa is the Convent of Santa Catalina, one of the city's first. It was founded late in the 16th century by a widow who decided that instead of remarrying, she wanted to retire to wealth instead. As such, the lifestyle in Santa Catalina was not quite one of suffering and privations such as you would see in the Potosi convent, but it was rather more like the Beguinages of the low countries, with nuns instead of old women.
The Spanish aristocracy in Peru sent their second daughters to the convent at the age of 14, at which time they spent 4 years in devotional isolation (can't make it too easy, can we?) after which they were given the choice to stay or go. Since the second daughter of a family was expected to take care of the family's spiritual reputation and this convent wasn't such a bad place, they usually stayed. At that point, they moved into the more luxurious chambers of the convent and lived according to their family's means.
It was a really interesting visit, with a really nice guide. We hope that you find the pictures as interesting as the visit!
August 16th, 2010 - 03:56
What about the admissions today? What do I have to do to get to spend my Old Age cultivating pelargonias in that place?