The city of Arequipa was founded in 1540 by Garcí Manuel de Carbajal, who in the nearby fertile lands of Huasacache built his mansion. Huasacache, in the valley of the river Socabaya only a short distance from the city, passed through various hands over the years until it was bought by Jesuit missionaries.

The Jesuits made many additions to the home, most notably several new rooms and an adjoining chapel. It became a place for retreats and meetings. When the Jesuits were expelled from all Spanish territories in 1767, the land and the mansion were confiscated by the local government and sold at auction for 68,965 silver pesos.

After being sold and bought again, the lands and mansion passed into the hands of another famous family, that of Juan Crisóstomo de Goyeneche y Aguerrevere, a captain of the Spanish army. It was a family in which it stayed until 1947 when his descendants parcelled and sold off the land.

In 1978 a group of enthusiasts of Arequipeña architecture bought the mansion, by now laying in ruins, and over many months restored all that was lost. It has since been open to the public as a tourist attraction.

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Tags: architecture, arequipa, carbajal, colonial, goyeneche y aguerrevere, huasacache, jesuits, mansion, restoration, spaniards