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The Cathedral of San Marcos de Arica is an architectural work that is located in the city of Arica. The construction was commissioned by the Peruvian president José Balta in the workshops of the Frenchman Gustave Eiffel and originally destined for the Ancón spa.



The old Matríz de Arica Church, which stood 226 years since the colony, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1868 and therefore a committee of ladies from Arica made the request to Balta for this construction to be destined for Arica. The request was accepted and the building was inaugurated in 1876 on the rubble of the Main Church.



In 1880, the city of Arica happened to be occupied militarily by the Army of Chile, but until the beginning of the XX century, the parish of Arica continued depending on the diocese of Arequipa according to what the Holy See had ordered. On February 27, 1910, the mayor of Arica, Máximo Lira, decreed the expulsion of Juan Vitaliano Berroa, parish priest of Arica, and Juan Gualberto Guevara, his assistant, for being Peruvians, replacing them with Chilean military chaplains.











Between San Marcos and Yungay streets, in front of Plaza Colón (visits from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.).



It was declared a National Monument on October 4, 1984.



It is a work inspired by the Gothic style, when metallic materials were applied in Europe. The structure is completely metallic, except for its two wooden doors. Its patron saint, San Marcos, is celebrated every April 25, the date of the Spanish founding of the city.

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