Peruvian architecture is the architecture carried out during any time in what is now

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and by Peruvian architects worldwide. Its diversity and long history spans from

ancient Peru The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and no ...

, the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

Colonial Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, go ...

to the present day. Peruvian colonial architecture is the conjunction of European styles exposed to the influence of indigenous imagery. Early academia has tended to view the Spanish architectural and religious takeover as complete and swift, but revisionist history emphasizes the lasting role of the indigenous in religious architecture. Two of the most well-known examples of the Renaissance period are the Cathedral of Santo Domingo and the Santa Clara church in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

. After this period, cultural mixture reached richer expression in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

. Some examples of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

in Peru are the convent of San Francisco de Lima, the church of the Compañía and the facade of the University of Cuzco and, overall, the churches of San Agustín and Santa Rosa of

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

, its more beautiful exponents. The wars of independence left a creative emptiness that

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

of French inspiration could just fill. The 20th century is characterized by

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

, to which the constructive functionalism has been against. The most considerable example is Plaza San Martín in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

History of Peru Architecture

Peruvian architecture is surrounded by a wide range of elements from many architectures: its origins date back to the structures of the Incas, and later to colonial-era buildings, and Peruvian architects' transformation based on Baroque and Neoclassic European styles. Fortunately, a series of examples of Incan architecture stays intact, which was developed until the beginning of the Spanish conquest in 1532. By the middle of the 20th century, a period of modernization and construction appeared in Lima's historical center in 1988 UNESCO declared Lima's historical center a world heritage site, which inspired many laws designed to protect and care for the city's buildings.

Archaeological Sites

In Peru, the thousand-year-old architectural legacy of some of its many archaeological sites (19,903 to be exact). Here are some of the Archaeological Sites.

Machu Picchu

Located in the South of Peru, in the Urubamba Valley. Machu Picchu, Cuzco. It was built before the fifteenth century on the rocky promontory that connects the Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains on the eastern slope of the Central Cordillera. It is stone buildings that makeup steps, terraces, and paths of a fortress that is wisely placed in its landscape. Throughout its existence, it has enjoyed a veil of mystery.

Pachacámac

Located in the South of Lima, in the Lurín Valley. This archaeological complex was the most important religious-ceremonial center of the central coast of Peru for more than 1500 years, during the pre-Inca and Inca periods.

Puruchuco

Located on the Northern coast of Lima, in the District of Ate. The construction of this architectural complex comes from the Inca culture. This monument was the palace of a curaca (ruler) where he lived and administered.

Chan Chan

Located on the northern coast of Peru, northwest of Trujillo. It is the largest adobe-built city in the Americas and the second-largest in the world. It is formed by nine citadels (small walled cities). The whole complex was the capital of the Chimor Kingdom and the Chimú culture.

Sacsayhuamán

Located north of the city of Cuzco. The large plaza, capable of holding thousands of people, was designed for communal ceremonial activities. Several of the large structures at the site may also have been used during rituals. A similar relationship to that between Cuzco and Sacsayhuamán was replicated by the Inca in their distant colony

Pikillaqta

Located in the district of Lucre, southeast of the city of Cuzco Pikillaqta is a village of the Wari people. Wari was the Centre village and other cities like Pikillaqta were influenced by it. The Wari also inhabited many other sites around the area.

Nazca Lines

Located in the Jumana Pampas, Nazca Desert in Ica. The Nazca Lines (Líneas de Nazca) are ancient geoglyphs composed of several hundred figures that range from simple designs such as lines to complex zoomorphic, hylomorphic, and geometric figures that appear traced on the earth's surface.