Facade

The church is entirely made of stone, the material is pink basalt and andesite. It has a single nave and two side chapels. The main façade is a classic example of the Baroque style and consists of two identical lateral cubes that project towards the bell towers with a central façade limited by both. The bases of the cubes have a rectangular floor plan without decorations and end up in a cornice. The middle third has a central window on the lower cornice that gives it the shape of a balcony without a railing. On each side there are two false pilasters with their corresponding entablature. The bay occupies the central intercolumnium and a small niche opens in each of the side intercolumns. On top of the false entablature run two other false pilasters that in their upper third enclose the space for the clock. This body ends in a cornice supported by stone beams. The last third corresponds to the bell tower that has:

• Four openings with sill edges and quasi-elliptical shape.
• Four columns that constitute the framework of the bell tower.
• Several false pilasters that decorate the previous columns.
• A cornice that surrounds on all four sides.
• The dome of the bell tower with its capital. On the cornice, in each corner there is a lithic urn and another central lithic urn. On the horizontal line of the base of the mentioned urns, several small domes run.

The lower part of the facade has a large door with a wide opening that culminates in a segmental arch. Three Corinthian columns on each side of the door, two of them together and close to the door jamb and another separate. The columns have a common pedestal with plinth, cornice and base plus the upper false entablature, with architrave, frieze and cornice. In addition, each column has rings in the upper and lower limits of the middle third of the shaft. In the space that corresponds to each intercolumnium there is a Latin cross made of white brindle which makes it stand out from the rest. A rectangular surface extends over the door with two side ornaments plus a central one as a shelf. On the shelf there is a pedestal with a niche that culminates in a semi-vault. Inside the niche there is a statue of the Virgin Mary in brindle. On each side of this niche is a Corinthian column. From the internal ends of the cornices, the lateral entablatures follow a semicircular arch cut in its central and upper portion.

The middle part of the façade has a central window above the statue of the Virgin that culminates in a semicircular arch. On both sides are ornaments in high relief on two pedestals. On each side there are two Corinthian columns together, with pedestal and false entablature, the shafts with rings. Moving to each side, windows open and below each one, a simulated window. Outside the window, there is a last column almost next to the tower.

The final part of the façade forms a trilobe. The sides are identical and opposite in the arrangement of the elements. The central one is a semicircular arch. On each lateral lobe is a large fluted shell and ornaments. Inside the central one runs an altarpiece made up of two Corinthian columns with a complicated false entablature that culminates in a central medallion supported by two curved projections. in the intercolumnium there is a niche with a lower shelf.

Interior

Upon entering the church, we find the large central nave covered with Gothic ribbed vaults that unload their efforts on thick stone walls, following the design pattern of the Church of the Gesù in Rome, with its Latin cross plan.

In the transept, the overhead lighting coming from the lantern of the semicircular dome highlights the great decorative treatment in stone that the pendentives of both the dome and the pilasters possess, allowing us to see the great skill that the indigenous stonemasons possessed in the stereotomy of the stone.

Finally we arrive at the presbytery where the main altar stands out, made up of an altarpiece 21 meters high and 12 meters wide, carved in cedar and gilded entirely with gold leaves. It has Solomonic columns, a large number of paintings, a central canvas representing the Transfiguration of Jesus, a sculpture of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, and various ornaments and decorations made with precious stones that highlight the Baroque style of the complex.

Similar sumptuousness is seen in the carved tribunes and the rest of the altarpieces, some of which belonged to the defunct Templo de San Agustín. The collection of sculptures and paintings within are noteworthy. The church exhibits, under the choir of the main altar, works of art by Marcos Zapata and his assistant Cipriano Gutiérrez. On both sides of the main gate of the main altar, around the alabaster windows (huamanga), there are two canvases that represent the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola: in one he is healing the sick and in the other he is victorious over the heretics and schismatics of the Reformation.

The interior also hosts two paintings of great historical value. The first, located on the northern wall, is The Wedding of Martín García Oñas de Loyola with Doña Ñusta Beatriz Clara Qoya, which depicts the union of this Spanish captain, nephew of St. Ignatius of Loyola (who is founder of the Society of Jesus) and apprehender of the last Incas of Túpac Amaru, and the ñusta of Inca lineage, daughter of Sayri Túpac and therefore niece of Túpac Amaru. This noble indigenous woman, Beatriz Clara, was heiress of the Lordship of Yucay. Their mestiza daughter, ñusta Lorenza de Loyola Qoya, was the first Marquiss of Santiago de Oropesa, the nobiliary title that granted claim to all the properties of the Yucay Valley and the surrounding Oropesa, with the power to rule them with complete independence of the local authorities.^[8] This daughter married Juan de Borja y Enríquez de Luna, son of St. Francis Borgia. Also on the canvas are Túpac Amaru and Sayri Túpac, who, like the princess, wear native clothes; behind them appears the achiwa, a kind of umbrella made of multicolored bird feathers and used only by the Inca. The second painting is on the south wall and represents the wedding of Beltrán García de Loyola with Teresa Idiáquez, daughter of Juan Idiáquez and Magdalena de Loyola.^[9]

In the church, there are paintings and sculptures by Diego de la Puente, Marcos Zapata, and Cristo de Burgos.^[10][11] The Jesuit college in Cusco was dedicated the Transfiguration of Christ, and the high altar features a painting of the Transfiguration attributed to the Jesuit Diego de la Puente.^[12]

Chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola

The chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola is located to the south, and adjacent to that is the central location of the modern-day National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco. That building originally served the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, which was part of the University of the Transfiguration, created by Pope Gregory XV in 1621.^[13] After the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, the site served as the army barracks and prison of José Gabriel Condorcanqui (Túpac Amaru II). At the end of the 19th century it housed the Society of Artisans. The chapel is small and austere, with a single nave built in stone, and has a more sober portal than that of the main church. It is currently an exhibition hall.^[9]

University

Next to their church, the Jesuits built their own university: the University of San Ignacio de Loyola, now the premises of the National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot. Paradoxically, the two institutions were major rivals at the end of the 17th century. The stone façade dates from that time, but its treatment is much freer than that of the main church.

Its composition, like an altarpiece, is adorned with a profuse padding and with blind, purely decorative windows. Its wide hall, crowned by a dome, is unique in Cusco. The inner cloister, which contains an austere stone arcade, served as a model for others in the city. It houses the Museum of Natural Sciences.

The Seminary of San Antonio de Abad was founded in 1598 in a building on the Calle de las Nazarenas (today the Hotel Monasterio); In 1692, through a document given by Pope Innocent XII, the University of Saint Anthony the Abbot was created on its base.^[9]

Side chapels

The complex includes two chapels located on both sides of the church. The "Chapel of the Indians" or "Chapel of la Virgen de Loreto" built in 1571 and rebuilt after the earthquake of 1650 and the Chapel of San Ignacio on the left side of the church^[13] that is currently the headquarters of the Society of Artisans of Cusco.