La Ruta de los Murales with Lisy Kuon

Photo Credit: World Monuments Fund

In our view, artistic gems shine brighter with the illuminating presence of a true passionate specialist by your side. We uniquely work with some of the leading experts in the fields of archaeology, art and culture in South America including Elizabeth ‘Lisy’ Kuon, a charming and fascinating Cuzco-born specialist in Colonial art and art history. With Lisy’s help we are introducing a new exciting trip day trip south-east of Cuzco to visit the unassuming, quiet villages of Huaro, Andahuaylillas and Oropesa whose humble churches unexpectedly house mesmerizing and spectacular frescoes and murals.

The seventeenth century church at Andahuaylillas, some 41 kms from Cuzco, is known as the ‘Sistine Chapel of America’, with its huge Cusqueña canvasses decorating the upper walls, unusual murals and ceiling painted with Spanish flowers. The mural, deemed the most important in all the colonial churches in the Cuzco region by the World Monuments Fund*, was decorated by Don Luis de Riaño in 1629, inspired by the humanist teachings of local priest, Don Juan Perez de Bocanegra. Later, between 1675 and 1699, a similarly inspiring church was built in nearby village Huaro. Detailed with mural paintings and polychrome sculptures in a style that symbolizes the coming together of European and indigenous schools at this time.
Located a short distance from Cuzco, this unique artwork brought to life by a true specialist like Lisy, perfectly illustrates the richness of art found in even the most humble of locations in the extraordinary country of Peru. Please contact us to book a visit or for more information.

* The World Monuments Fund funded the restoration of Huaro Church. Andahuaylillas Church is currently on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List.

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