Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa

The Basilica Cathedral of Santa María occupies the entire northern flank of Arequipa's Plaza de Armas and stands as one of the finest examples of Spanish colonial religious architecture in Peru. Its sweeping façade is carved from sillar, the pale volcanic stone quarried from the slopes of nearby El Misti that gave Arequipa its nickname 'Ciudad Blanca.' The current structure was rebuilt repeatedly following earthquakes and fires in the 17th and 19th centuries; a major earthquake in 2001 toppled one of its twin bell towers, which was subsequently reconstructed to its original design. Part of the Historic Centre of Arequipa, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, the cathedral holds a 19th-century Belgian pipe organ considered one of the largest in Latin America.