Cusco

Cusco, or Cuzco (pop. 225,600), city in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru. Once the capital of the Inca empire, the city was captured in 1533 by the Spanish colonist Francisco Pizarro, who destroyed many of its palaces and temples. Parts of the old walls remain, however, and there are ruins of an Inca fortress. A cathedral, completed in 1654 on the site of the Inca palace, along with other significant colonial buildings, draws tourists to the city today.

See also: Peru.