Arch of Santa Clara

In front of you is a curious piece in an Inca and Baroque city: a neoclassical triumphal arch, one of those that imitate Roman arches. Its story is short and intense, like that of the country it celebrates.

1Santa Cruz and the Confederation

The arch was raised in 1835 on the initiative of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, president of Bolivia. At the time, Santa Cruz was pushing to unite Bolivia and Peru in a single state, the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, proclaimed in 1836 and dissolved in 1839 after the defeat at Yungay. Cusco, in southern Peru, was one of its supporters.

The arch remained as a reminder of that political project. Over time it became part of everyday life: today vendors, students and tourists walk beneath it without looking up.

2An Inca road

Calle Santa Clara follows the line of an old road leading out of the city towards Contisuyu, the south-western quarter of the empire. Around you, you will spot stone walls at the base of some houses.

A triumphal arch for a three-year-old country: Cusco also keeps monuments to what might have been.

3What to look for

• The figure crowning the arch, an allegory of Liberty.
• The coat of arms on the façade and the Andean birds beside it.
• The view towards Plaza San Francisco, a few steps away, with the tower of its church.