P20

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Think globally, act locally

Santa Catalina Convent, Arequipa, Peru

Item Number—P20

This convent was opened to the public in 1970 after 400 years as a cloister. Behind the closed doors the nuns, daughters of Spanish and Creole aristocrats, seemed to pay little attention to the vows of poverty and silence, each having her own servant and dining in luxury. The convent is in reality a town itself, a walled colonial village in the middle of the city of Arequipa. There are narrow pedestrian streets and archways, flowered gardens, spacious patios, and granite fountains. Buildings are painted in traditional blue, white, and brown. About 20 nuns still inhabit one part of the convent, which once had a population of nearly 500.