Sacred Heritage in the Andes: Conserving the Baroque Church of Rondocan

Many churches in remote locations in the Peruvian Andes remain active centers of worship, community life, and cultural identity while safeguarding important cultural and religious artifacts. Their conservation presents complex challenges that require balancing conservation principles with ongoing use and community values while ensuring long-term stewardship.

The Church of Santo Tomás de Aquino in Rondocan, Peru is a seventeenth-century Andean Baroque church built using traditional earthen construction techniques, including adobe walls, buttresses, and a timber par y nudillo roof structure. Comprising a single nave and choir, the church is distinguished by its extensive wall paintings and significant collection of liturgical and artistic objects, including the celebrated Principales Misterios de la Vida y Muerte de Cristo Nuestro Salvador y la Virgen Santísima series by Bernardo Bitti, one of the most important examples of religious art in the region. Situated in a highly seismic region of the Peruvian Andes, the building has suffered earthquake damage and, like many earthen heritage sites in Peru, faces ongoing conservation challenges associated with limited maintenance and care.

Sacred Heritage in the Andes builds upon more than a decade of research and implementation undertaken through the Conservation Institute's Seismic Retrofitting Project. Through this work, Getty and its partners have developed and tested practical approaches for improving the seismic performance of historic earthen buildings while minimizing the loss of historic fabric. Sacred Heritage in the Andes expands this foundation by integrating the conservation of architecture, wall paintings, and collections with scientific research, professional training, and community stewardship.

The conservation of the seventeenth-century earthen Church of Santo Tomás de Aquino and its remarkable collection of more than 300 cultural objects provides a case study for an integrated conservation approach. Work will include the development of conservation strategies and treatments appropriate to the diverse materials and conditions of cultural objects, including the series of paintings attributed to the Italian Jesuit artist Bernardo Bitti (1548–1610), one of which, Prayer in the Garden, will undergo scientific analysis and conservation treatment at Getty with the participation of Peruvian conservators.

Across all the project’s components, equal emphasis will be placed on developing sustainable, context-sensitive solutions that address immediate conservation needs and establishing the foundations for long-term preservation and stewardship of both the church and its collections.

Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Facultad de Ciencias Ingeniería: Daniel Torrealva, Professor and former Dean; Samuel Luna, Engineer

University of Minho, Portugal: Paulo Lourenço, Professor, Department of Civil Engineer; Nuno Mendes, Auxiliar Researcher at the Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering; Elesban Nochebuena Mora, Doctor of Engineering and Fellow at University of Minho

Carleton University, Canada: Mario Santana Quintero, Professor in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering; Miquel Reina Ortiz, Assistant Professor, École d’architecture, Faculté de l’aménagement, Université de Montréal; Luigi Barazzetti, Professor of Modern Recording and Monitoring Techniques, Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

Clemencia Vernaza, wall paintings conservator

Luis Villacorta Santamato, architect, Peruvian Cultural Trips

Former team members: Benjamin Marcus

Getty Graduate Interns: Angela Anchante (2025– 2026), Sarah Randle (2025– 2026)