The Franciscan complex on Plaza San Francisco is one of the older religious foundations in Arequipa, begun in 1552. The main church is small and stocky — earthquake damage has knocked off various spires over the centuries — but the side chapel known as the Tercera Orden is the more interesting space, with carved retablos covered in gold leaf and a particularly fine 17th-century pulpit. Look up at the masonry cracks: they tell the story of every major Arequipa earthquake.
Tucked behind the church is one of South America's oldest libraries, the Biblioteca Franciscana, with around 20,000 colonial-era volumes — call ahead if you want to view the rare-books room. Across the plaza, the small Museo de Arte Religioso de la Catedral has a quieter collection of devotional art in a former cloister.