Due to the significant participation of the Dominicans in the conquest of Peru, the Spaniards couldn't have chosen a better place to build the church of the order than over the base of the most important monument of the Tawantinsuyo: the Koricancha, which is the largest Indian temple to worship the Sun.
According to the chronicles, it was one of the most magnificent constructions of the Incan Cusco. In the inner part, the precincts' walls, made of finely polished stone, were entirely covered with gold and silver sheets, idols and the representation of the sun.
After receiving the old temple's plot during the lots distribution that took place in October 1534, Juan Pizarro, brother of the conqueror, ceded it to the Dominican congregation. The first prior of the convent was Friar Juan de Olías, who occupied this cloister together with a group of Mexican missionaries.
Religious - Christianity
Links: www.cusco-peru.org
By: DonMartini
