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ART&ARCHITECTURE
120
winter
|
spr ing
The sixteenth century Priory of Santo Domingo, an enormous complex replacing the
Temple of the Sun, surmounts the foundation walls of Qorikancha, stepped in a series
of terraces
(below)
. The interior
(above)
incorporates walls from the Inca Empire’s most
important temple, seen at right, with arches of the Dominican monastery, seen at left.
Qorikancha means “Golden Courtyard” in Quechua, describing the original appearance of
this temple when its interior walls were covered with gold. After a 1950 earthquake, architect
Oscar Ladron de Guevara supervised the archeological excavations; a modern roof of metal
and glass protects the stonework of both cultures.