Monastery of San Francisco. Lima - PERU

Direccion: Plazuela San Francisco (Esquina Jirones, Ancash y Lampa) - Lima Peru
Phone: +51 1 4267377
Web: www.museocatacumbas.com/

The Monastery of San Francisco is one of the most important religious centers in Lima.

This church along with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Solitude and the Miracle Church, constitutes one of the coziest and artistic corners of Lima. Ramon Menendez Pidal, Spanish philologist and scholar, about commented: "It is the largest and noblest monument erected in these lands prodigy conquest".

The monumental complex of San Francisco de Lima is one of the most important religious, cultural and artistic centers of Peru. Once it founded Lima on January 18, 1535 by Francisco Pizarro drew a design and distributed the land. A Franciscan Order he was given a solar neighbor of Santo Domingo, on which Fray Francisco de la Cruz lifted a small ramada that used as a chapel.

After a time Father De la Cruz had to leave, and as there was no other Franciscan in the valley, the site was abandoned. Pizarro then added he had given to the Dominicans and Franciscans devoted another to the site now occupied by the chapel the Miracle. 1546 arrives at Lima Francisco Santa Ana, as Guardian of the Order who was surprised to find the site occupied by Don Sebastian Sanchez de Merlo and his wife and Don Cristobal de Burgos.

Father Santa Ana, went to trial against them before the religious courts.
And the Conservative Judge Fray Tomas de San Martin who was to found the, the oldest of America National University of San Marcos returned the property.

Fray Francisco de Santa Ana managed to build a small, modest church that was later improved and expanded in Convent by the Viceroy of Peru Andr?s Hurtado de Mendoza protector of the Order.

Over the next century the temple was challenged in a series of arrangements and decorations that finished into a portent art colony.

Its construction was not very strong, however, in 1614 the architect and greater worker of the convent, Fray Miguel de Huerta, warned that the pillars of the Church had little foundations and were placed on gravel, on February 4, 1656, a roar collapse brought down the temple of San Francisco, destroy its incalculable artistic wealth and all the effort of a century became ruins.