Main Square, Cusco
During the Inca Empire, the square was called Huacaypata, a Quechua word meaning “place of tears” or “meeting place”. It was an important ceremonial spot where the Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun was celebrated every year. It is also the place where Franciso Pizarro proclaimed the conquest of Cusco. After the Spanish arrived, the plaza changed. They erected stone arches and built the structures that surround it today.
 
Cathedral of Cusco
Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 10:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. Sun. and Holidays 2:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
The building went through two construction stages: first, the Chapel of the Triumph was built on top of what used to be the temple Suntar Wasi (House of God); later, the cathedral itself was built over the remains of the palace of Inca Wiracocha. A Renaissance building in its majority, the interior decoration is rich in cedar and alder woodcarvings. The choir and the pulpit stand out for their beauty. An important collection of paintings from the Cusco School and silver wrought pieces are also kept there.
 
Templo de la Compañía de Jesús (Church of the Company of Jesus Christ)
Main Square
Church of the Company of Jesus Christ. The original building was raised in 1571 on the grounds of the ancient palace of Inca Huayna Cápac, the Amarucancha. Cusco - Peru. After the earthquake of 1650, it was rebuilt around 1688. The design and the façade are examples of Andean Baroque. The retable style entrance is decorated with medium size towers and the stonewalls are carefully worked. Once inside, the triple bodied upper altar with salomonic columns, the wooden pulpit, and numerous Baroque, Plateresque, and Churrigueresque shrines catch the eye. The most remarkable work of art is “El matrimonio de Martín García de Loyola con Beatriz Clara Coya“ (The Wedding of Martín García de Loyola with Beatriz Clara Coya).
 
(Pic)Church and Convent of Santo Domingo / Koricancha. The Koricancha was one of the most impressive buildings of Inca Cusco according to the historians. Cusco - Peru. Church and Convent of Santo Domingo / Koricancha
Plaza Intipampa, corner of Avenida El Sol and Calle Santo Domingo. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 8:30 A.M. – 6:30 P.M. and Sun. 2:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

The Koricancha was one of the most impressive buildings of Inca Cusco according to the historians: the glowing gilding of the interior walls illuminated what used to be the main temple dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. The Spanish built the church and Dominican convent on top of the original structure around 1534 but they collapsed during the earthquake of 1650 and were rebuilt around 1681. The convent possesses an art gallery of valuable seventeenth and eighteenth century canvasses.