The Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo are an architectural set of religious buildings under the invocation to Our Lady of the Rosary. The construction of the Convent of Santo Domingo took about 50 years and concluded at the end of 16th century.
The historic chapter house of the Basilica of Santo Domingo was the place where the University of San Marcos, officially the first Peruvian university and the oldest university in the Americas, began to function in the 16th century. The first building was completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1678 and has been rebuilt numerous times as results of further earthquakes (for example, 1687 and 1746 to name a few).
The basilica is most renowned as the final resting place for three important Peruvian saints: San Juan Macías, Santa Rosa de Lima and San Martín de Porres (the continent’s first black saint). The convent, a sprawling courtyard-studded complex lined with baroque paintings and clad in vintage Spanish tiles, contains the saints’ tombs. The church, however, has the most interesting relics: the skulls of San Martín and Santa Rosa, encased in glass, in a shrine to the right of the main altar (See our 7 photos).
The exterior of the church was originally covered by bossage, as can be seen still at the base of the bell tower. A primitive portal, two bodies and three streets, was carved in the second half of the 17th century. In later years a new portal would rise because of the earthquakes that destroyed the church.
The present aspect of the church is due to a large extent to the reconstruction works after the Earthquake of Lima and Callao of 1940, that supposed the application of cement in the walls and the restoration of the portal and the facade of the church.
The church is divided in a main nave covered by rib vault and two lateral naves of interconnected and lantern chapels, in which also is the lateral portal of the church, the access to the tower and, next to the epistle, an entrance to the main cloister of the convent. The main nave has an additional entrance to the feet preceded by the narthex (space where religious instruction was given to the natives or those who were not baptized), on which is the high choir of the church.
The library of the Convent is one of the most worthy places to visit, not only for the value of its 25,000 books, but also for the coffered ceilings.
You can climb the bell tower for good views over Lima Historic Center.
Admission: church free, convent 10 soles
Hours: 9am-1pm & 5-7:30pm Mon-Sat
Mass: Sundays: 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 y 13:00 HRS. y 17:00, 18:00 y 19:30.
Source: Wikipedia (
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