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Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol

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3EFR0FP Lampa, Peru - 28 Nov, 2025: Altar and shrine in the Church of Santiago Apostle, Lampa, Puno, Peru
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**RIGHTS MANAGED** uploaded for use on LP app Lampa, Peru - 28 Nov, 2025: Altar and shrine in the Church of Santiago Apostle, Lampa, Puno, Peru

One of Peru's most engrossing churches, Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol (S10, 10am-noon & 2-4pm Tue-Sun) spreads across Lampa's central square in a medley of the magnificent, the macabre and the bizarre. The church was built in pink ashlar (large-cut) stone between 1675 and 1685.

The main church includes a life-sized sculpture of the Last Supper and the striking figure of Santiago (St James) atop a real stuffed horse, returning from the dead to trample the Moors. Some creepy catacombs beckon below. In an adjoining chapel, a domed tomb is topped by a wonderful copy of Michelangelo’s Pietà with myriad skeletons arranged in a ghoulishly decorative skull-and-crossbones pattern below. It has to be seen to be believed. Excellent Spanish-speaking guides are on hand.

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