How to Read a Church

This private, archaeologist-led visit to San Francisco Monastery and La Merced Convent explores how Cusco shifted from an Inca imperial capital to a colonial city. At San Francisco Monastery, you notice its Baroque façade giving way to decorated chapels and serene courtyards. Delsi draws your attention to the blend of Indigenous and European architectural elements, explaining how local materials, techniques, and ideas were incorporated into a new religious framework -- where the monastery played a continuous role in Cusco’s spiritual and community life since the 16th century. A short walk brings you to La Merced Convent where Delsi discusses the church’s altar, murals, and layout, including objects created by Indigenous and mestizo artists of the Cusco School and a significant piece of colonial goldsmithing in Peru. The convent functioned as center for education, worship and social order. The interactive visit allows for engaging discussion and exploration based around your interests.

Together, these two landmarks allow you to observe how religious architecture records a broader cultural transition - how belief, power, and daily life were reorganized during the early colonial period. Visiting these landmarks with a local archaeologist offers a way to understand Cusco’s religious buildings through material evidence rather than symbolism alone. Delsi focuses on what the structures themselves reveal over time: construction layers shaped by earthquakes, reused stone, shifts in layout, and decorations that combine European forms with Indigenous traditions. The buildings are records of adaptation rather than replacement. Drawing on recent research, Delsi points out details often overlooked, that reveal how these buildings were used and understood across centuries. The experience offers an evidence- and story-based immersion into Cusco’s colonial transformation, grounded in architecture, objects, and cultural narratives.

Delsi Espinoza is a local, fully licensed archaeologist from San Sebastian in Cusco. She has more than 15 years of experience working in the Cusco region on various official projects in a variety of locations. She has worked directly with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, international organizations, local municipalities, and national parks, including Machu Picchu, Saqsaywaman (Sacsayhuamán), Pikillaqta, and Urubamba, amongst others. She has led excavation projects, maintenance programs, and education initiatives in the region since graduating as an archaeologist from the Universidad San Antonio Abad Cusco in 2014. Delsi is accompanied by either Daniel (her business partner and husband, a fellow archaeologist) or Yessika (her sister, an economist and cultural educator). Daniel and Yessika are bilingual in Spanish and English.

Depending on the time of year, you may wish to bring a sweater or jacket with you.