Lima, Peru
November 15, 2016

The Monastery of San Francisco is one of Peru’s most visited tourist destination sites, known not only for its 18th century Spanish Baroque design, but also for its macabre reputation.

Underneath its splendor are catacombs that are believed to house the remains of more than 25,000 bodies — considered as the city’s first cemetery. The convent’s library also houses an impressive 25,000 antique texts with some predating conquests and early editions of the Holy Bible from 1571-1572.

In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the church and monastery to its World Heritage Site List.

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