The inner courtyard of the Santo Domingo Monastery in Cusco, Peru, showcases the harmonious blend of Spanish colonial architecture and the exposed walls of the ancient Inca sun temple, Qorikancha, lying beneath it. The Christian Dominican monastery was built in the 16th century directly on the foundations and walls of the Inca Empire’s most important religious centre. The precisely fitted Inca stones, laid without mortar, form the foundation for the arcades of the Spanish colonial period. In the background rises the Baroque tower of the Church of Santo Domingo, which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the historic centre of Cusco. – Peru – 1976
The inner courtyard of the Santo Domingo Monastery in Cusco, Peru, showcases the harmonious blend of Spanish colonial architecture and the exposed walls of the ancient Inca sun temple, Qorikancha, lying beneath it. The Christian Dominican monastery was built in the 16th century directly on the foundations and walls of the Inca Empire’s most important religious centre. The precisely fitted Inca stones, laid without mortar, form the foundation for the arcades of the Spanish colonial period. In the background rises the Baroque tower of the Church of Santo Domingo, which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the historic centre of Cusco. – Peru – 1976