|
Koricancha Temple
Standing within the city of Cusco, the temple and church of
Koricancha are amongst the architectural treasures that are
admired by residents and visitors alike. This Quechua word
means “Golden Ground”, because it is said that during the Inca
period the temple, used to worship the sun, was covered in
gold and was the most revered.
The Spanish church dates from 1540 and was raised on the base
of the Temple of the Sun. The picture shows the curvature and
slight inclination of the Inca wall, which furthermore has no
jointing material between the blocks of which it is made.
Within the archaeological complex of Koricancha there is
now a gallery of colonial art, which occupies the former friars’
refectory and De profundis chamber. It includes paintings from
the Cusqueña School of the 17th and 18th centuries, as well
as religious sculptures, notably the Virgen del Rosario de los
Indios.
ExHotel Palace, Iquitos
Standing at the junction of Calle Putumayo and Tarapacá, in the
city of Iquitos is the former Hotel Palace. It is greatly admired for
its splendid construction and its reminiscences of the rubber
bonanza, recalled as a golden age in eastern Peru.
It is in a Morisco style, under the influence of Art Nouveau, and
dates from the heyday of the rubber trade. The building was
commissioned by the magnate Otoniel Vela; work began on 2
January 1908 and was completed on 10 June 1912. It was built to
accommodate the rubber producers and European merchants
who had business in Iquitos, and was the most important hotel
in the city, as well as one of the most luxurious in Peru.
Hand-decorated tiles from Italy were used on the sumptuous
three-storied facade; the doors and the windows have semicircular
arches and the wrought-iron railings, delicately
ornamented with leaves and flowers, were brought from
Hamburg, Germany. Inside, the magnificent Carrara marble and
Sevillian mosaics are preserved. |
|
