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cuzcm
'PRE
HISTORICAL
. AND
CITY OF PERU
jewels of the Cathedral, among which attention
is
called to the
celebrated Custodia, said to •have cost during the C<>lonial period
90,000
pesos.
It
is
profusely strewn with pearls, emera1ds, diamonds
elle. -
and ab01Ve ali is a dragon of emeralds of incalculable value,
all in one pi ece. The Bishop P edro Morcillo Rubio de Auñón was
the donator of this rpiece, which was man ufactured in the year
1448
by Gregorio de Gallegos. Attention is also called to a crown of the
Virgin entitled La Lihda, as well as to ithe gold incensaries and
other objects of value.
'.rhere is also con·served, althorugh it has been partly restored,
a chasuble (or priest's robe) said to have belonged to the 13ishop
Valverde.
In one of the chambers of the main nave is k ept the image in
silver and the silver
cairriage used
in
religiou.s processions
by
the
Bishop Bernardo
in
t.heyoor
1742.
Its co t was
9,000
pesos, and
there was u e
in it manufaictu¡
732
inarks (weight) of silver.
This ca rriaige only
a e
tbe journéy aronmd the Pllaza during
the
procession of
h
Another
article
intere t · is he pulpi
at the right;
th~
wood carviug
a
ar-monious proportions of which deserve cara.ful
note.
The .gpacious choir room, 1ea0ing from the cerutral nave by a
high wooden dooT,
i
mo t
imipressive
:i.n
details of the wood
carvings in all its forty-four seats and surroundings. In the center
is the ¡place reserved for the Bishop, covered by a canopy of
distinguoished
decoration . Above the choi r
are two large pipe
organs.
The two towers of the Cathedral would seem of severe construc–
tion. The one to the right, fronting the Plaza, has the traditional
"María Angela",
a •bell that can
be heard twenty kilometers
distain.t on a silent nigM.
It weighs six tons, and was with dii–
ficulty
raised
to
its position; made by Sr. Diego Arias,
architect and sculptor of much of the work of the Cathedral in
1659.
Many of the Bishopf! of Cuzco are interred in the Catihedral
in
30