La Iglesia de la Compañía, just off the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa.
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru. It is often called ‘The White City’ because many of it’s building are made using a local volcanic rock know as Sillar.
If you look at a satellite image of Arequipa or even while you are walking around the city, one thing you will notice is that it is surrounded by large volcanos. One volcano, called Chachani produced all ths white rock during eruptions in the past. No-one is sure exactly when it last erupted but it is thought it was during the ‘Pleistocene’ era, but that is between 2.5 million to 12,000 years ago!
Sillar has historically been used in almost every type of construction in Arequipa, from simple walls around fields to houses and the city’s cathedral. You can see it everywhere and it gives Arequipa a distinct character, a bit like how Bath in England has a special character from its local stone.
Because it can be carved easily, many building have elaborate decorations all over them. You can see some excellent examples of this in the churches in Arequipa.
Banco International del Peru, with traditional Sillar carvings.
It is not just the traditional buildings that have this white stone. Many newer building have kept with the tradition and use Sillar which helps to keep the special character of Arequipa.
