The construction of the vaults in the cathedrals of the Viceroyalty of Peru

In the Viceroyalty of Peru, political power was strongly connected to religion; so the construction of magnificent cathedrals with their symbolic meaning, to replace the first adobe buildings, became the main opportunity for a cultural and architectural knowledge transfer from Spain to the South America. Juan Miguel de Veramendi, from Biscay, in 1551 planned the Cathedral of Chuquisaca; he was also commissioned to design the new Cathedral of Cusco. About 10 years after, the direction of the two building sites was entrusted to other. In Cusco, Veramendi set the foundations using large stones removed from the ancient Inca temples; the indigenous builders used this material perfectly, but they were not skilled to carry out a vaulted roof, whose initial plans of Veramendi are unknown. Francisco Becerra, from Trujillo, designed the Cathedral of Lima, very similar to the final configuration of the main church of Cuzco. The construction in Lima was partially completed, but the earthquake of 1606 seriously damaged its Renaissance stone vaults. In Cusco, Francisco Domínguez Chávez y Orellana, also from Spain, signed a contract (1649) with whom he undertook to build seventeen brick rib vault; the work would have been carried out in forty months: for the completion of each vault the time of a month and a half was expected, plus a whole year to carry out the finishes. The ancient Inca capital was destroyed by the earthquake of 1650, but the structures already made of the Cathedral roof was little damaged, so the architect was able to complete the building in the following four years. The aim of the study is to demonstrate how some building become prototypes. These territories were affected by a lot of earthquakes over time, therefore many churches have been completely transformed. Starting from the still existing vaults and by archival investigation, the evolution of the structures will be examined. Through original graphic schemes, the analysis of the Gothic vaults of the Cusco Cathedral explain the technical characteristics which made the entire structure resistant to earthquakes, as demonstrated by the destructive one of 1950. Transverse ribs, liernes and tiercerons, split the web of the vault in independent wall elements: rollock courses of bricks vault were arranged in concentric rings, to build vaults with a minimum of temporary wooden centering.