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The site currently occupied by this museum was known during the Inca period as the Acllawasi, or House of the Chosen Women. It was where selected women of the Tahuantinsuyo, many of them from noble families, lived. Some were dedicated to the worship of the Sun, while others served the Inca and carried out activities such as textile work and culinary arts.
The museum is officially known as the Museum of Monastic Life or the Monastery of Santa Catalina of Cusco. Its history is linked to the foundation promoted by Doña Lucía Isabel Rivera de Padilla. After the damage caused by the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in 1600, the monastery was transferred to Cusco. In February 1605, the first 25 professed nuns arrived in the city.
The Santa Catalina Museum is located in Cusco’s historic center, just a few minutes from the Plaza de Armas, on Santa Catalina Angosta Street 401.
The museum features colonial architecture corresponding to the final stages of the Renaissance, with Roman-style arches. It houses paintings from the Cusco School dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, large colonial-era tapestries, and, especially, the chapter house, where visitors can admire the vivid colors of colonial paintings. It also preserves religious sculptures and liturgical objects. These pieces reflect the syncretism between Andean iconography and Christian elements, giving the museum unique artistic and historical value.
The reference opening hours for visiting the Santa Catalina Museum are:
The reference fees are as follows:
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