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Cusco Travel Guide

The original Inca city, said to have been founded in the eleventh century, was sacked by Pizarro in 1535. There are still remains, however, of the palace of the Incas, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Virgins of the Sun.

About Cusco

Cusco covers an area of 156 sq. miles (402.8 square Km) and is estimated to have a population of 350,000 people being a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province.

Archive for the ‘Attractions’ Category

Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

This large and austere 17th-century convent church, thoughtfully restored, extends the length of the square of the same name. It is best known for its collection of colonial art works, including paintings by Marcos Zapata and Diego Quispe Tito, both of considerable local renown. A monumental canvas (12 by 9m/39 by 30 ft.) that details the genealogy of the Franciscan family (almost 700 individuals) is by Juan Espinoza de los Monteros. The Franciscans also decorated the convent with ceiling frescoes and a number of morbid displays of skulls and bones. The church is worth a visit mainly for those with extra time in Cusco.



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