Cuzco is the capital of Cuzco department in southern Peru and was the center of the Inca Empire from its inception in the 14th century until the Spanish invasion in 1533.
Inca tribes are believed to have come to Cuzco from the Lake Titicaca region in about the 11th century. The legendary founder of the city was MANCO CAPAC, first of the Inca rulers. The name Cuzco is Quechua for "navel," and the city was considered the center of the Inca world, the place where the four parts of the empire collided. It was the nucleus from which the famous Inca road network branched out.
Inca Cuzco was different conceptually from European cities. It was designed in the form of a puma, with the 15th-century fortress of Sacsayuaman as the head. The convergence of the Huatanay and Tullumayo rivers was canalized and straightened to form the tail. The core of the city contained official and ceremonial buildings and residences of ruling officials. Many other buildings and residences were dispersed at a considerable distance in the countryside surrounding the core, but they were defined as part of the capital.
The Inca capital is especially known for its architecture of enormous cut-stone blocks fitted so precisely that no mortar was needed. Coricancha, the temple of the sun, and the fortress of Sacsayuaman are the most outstanding examples of this type of construction.
From all parts of the Inca Empire a wealth of silver and gold poured into Cuzco, filling the temples and palaces. These treasures were plundered by Francisco Pizarro in 1533, and the city was smashed. The Spaniards employed the natives to build a new city on the ruins of their old, adorning the edifices of their churches with the confiscated wealth. Under Spanish rule Cuzco flourished as an art center, home of the famous Cuzqueno School of Painting.