The Facts
On November 9, 2026, Getty announced the Sacred Heritage in the Andes: Conserving the Baroque Church of Rondocan Project, a multi-year initiative to conserve the 17th-century Church of Santo Tomás de Aquino, locally known as the Church of Rondocan, in the Andean highlands of Peru's Cusco region. The project will strengthen the earthen adobe structure against earthquakes and support conservation of its collection of more than 300 cultural objects, including gilded wooden retablos, polychrome sculptures, ecclesiastical textiles, and a series of eight paintings by Bernardo Bitti (1548–1610) that were thought lost. Getty's Conservation Institute will partner with the Ministry of Culture of Peru and local professionals to develop conservation guidelines and implement seismic retrofitting. Construction is set to begin in 2027, and one Bitti painting, 'La Oración en el huerto' ('Prayer in the Garden'), painted in Cusco between 1595 and 1599, will be transferred to Getty for scientific analysis and treatment.
The Signal
The project underscores Getty's long-term commitment to conserving earthen heritage in Peru, building on its Seismic Retrofitting Project since 2011. The rediscovery of the Bitti series offers a rare opportunity to study untouched colonial artworks, potentially informing conservation of similar pieces. The initiative emphasizes community involvement and sustainable methods, reflecting a growing trend in heritage conservation that prioritizes local stewardship and resilience against natural disasters.
- Artists: Bernardo Bitti
- People: Claudia Cancino, Fernando López Sánchez, Stéphanie Auffret, Ulrich Birkmaier
- Museums: Getty
- Locations: Cusco, Peru
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