Colegio San Bernardo, Colonial educational building in Cusco, Peru
Colegio San Bernardo is a stone and adobe building in Cusco with an elevated entrance, Spanish colonial architecture, and traditional tiled roofs spanning multiple floors. The structure features rooms arranged around an interior courtyard, typical of colonial-era design.
The college was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1619 and received its Royal College status from Viceroy Francisco de Borja in 1620. The building survived centuries and underwent structural improvements following the 1950 earthquake that affected the region.
The building is named after San Bernardo Abad, the patron of the former Colegio Ciencias, which keeps the old college's name alive. The site is being refurbished to house the Casa de Cultura of the Provincial Municipality of Cusco, so its cultural use is only planned, not yet open.
The building stands on Calle San Bernardo, where the doorway now sits more than a metre above the street level, a result of the 1950 earthquake and the later restoration. It is undergoing renovation to house the Casa de Cultura of the Provincial Municipality of Cusco, so the interior is not open to visitors; the two doorways and the carved shield on the main portal can be seen from the street.
The foundation incorporates large Inca stones, while the walls combine adobe construction methods, showing an architectural fusion of two civilizations. This technique of integrating existing Inca stonework was common in buildings erected after the Spanish conquest to respect local building traditions.
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