Church of the Society of Jesus
Baroque church of pink volcanic stone raised directly atop an Inca royal palace's foundations.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Church of the Society of Jesus in Cusco opens with a painting inside it, of the Inca princess Beatriz Clara Coya married as a girl to the Spanish captain who had just marched her uncle to Cusco in chains and had him executed. It follows the ground the church stands on, the palace of Wayna Qhapaq, built over rather than beside, and a 1656 complaint to the crown that the new church was too grand for a conquered city. You will hear how the viceroy settled that argument. Stand at the entrance and look for where Inca stonework still shows beneath the Spanish plaster.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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