Copacabana Cathedral
About
Copacabana Cathedral, completed in 1619, is one of the oldest churches in Bolivia and is a fine example of Moorish style architecture. (The current structure dates to 1805.) It houses the statue of La Virgen de la Candelaria (also called the "Dark Virgin"), reputed to have miraculous healing powers. The original statue was carved from cactus in 1583 by Francisco Tito Yupanqui, nephew of Inca emperor Huayna Capac. It has made the church Bolivia's most revered pilgrimage site, and its reputation traveled far and wide in its time, even leading someone to create a replica and build a chapel for it on a beach in Brazil...
