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...two travellers in search of the world's wildlife
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26 June 2011

Santa Catalina

Peru, Photos

I’m very happy we went to the trouble of extending our stay in Arequipa by a day, despite the rebooking of buses, car hire and hotels required. Not only because we badly needed a day of (mostly) rest, but because we visited the magical Convent of Santa Catalina, one of the most delightful places I’ve ever explored.

Arequipa is a city which sprawls in the shadow of three magnificent volcanic peaks
And so it is renowned for the white volcanic rock used to build its graceful colonial architecture
The interior of the Merced church is a good example of the elegant carving the soft stone allows
But the jewel in Arequipa is the much more rustic and yet gracefully beautiful Convent de Santa Catalina
Bold colours - red, white, blue and yellow - are used to give a particular presence to different parts of this \'village within a city\'
The simple shapes of the stonework and the brick red paint dazzle in the sun beneath the deep azure sky
Plants play a big role in making Santa Catalina homely as well as stunning
Areas of natural white stone provide a cool relief from all the earthy reds
The stonework becomes ethereal against the blue sky
Even when a window looks out only on an alleyway, the view is made charming by small details
Bold, simple architecture again - turning the red to varying shades of earth and pink
I think Santa Catalina is so lovely because it manages to offer grace and beauty with obvious humility
The third key colour is the vivid cerulean blue
The orange tree courtyard is a space that made me smile as soon as I saw it
Sure enough, there were oranges
Blue also gave a tranquil feeling to some of the more humble working areas of the convent
It\'s the brightness of the high altitude sub-tropical sun that makes Santa Catalina glow - such primary colours would flop in the diffuse light of England
And of course the sun allows the Convent\'s lovely garden and all the plants that enhance the alleys, courtyards and nun\'s cells to flourish
The nun\'s cells, while less photogenic, gave an insight into their cloistered lives - this was their outside laundry, built of halved pottery urns
We spent three hours photographing incessantly here, as absolutely everything caught our eye
Santa Catalina finds its way effortlessly into my top 10 favourite buildings of the world

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