The complex occupies an area of 3,920 square meters and is the most important religious monument in the Historic Center of Cusco.

The word itself originated in the phrase qusqu wanka ("Rock of the owl"), attending to the foundational myth of the Ayar siblings.

[3] When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Cuzco, they decided to take down the temple and build their Christian cathedral in that prominent site.

February 13, one thousand five hundred thirty-six.The Cathedral of Cusco is the result of various projects carried out by different architects who took over at the head of the works.

This last one was the immediate precedent of the two Peruvian cathedrals.In 1538, after the return of Vicente Valverde with the cédulas reales that recognized him as bishop of Cusco, he began the construction of a cathedral by order of erection on September 4, 1538.

Faced with this situation, at the initiative of the second bishop of Cusco Juan Solano, the Cabildo decided to purchase the Alonso de Mesa lot adjacent to the one assigned for the construction of the cathedral and which corresponded to the old Kiswarcancha that was the Viracocha palace.

[5] The construction material was stone from nearby areas and red granite blocks were also reused from the fortress known as Sacsayhuamán.

A surprising detail is the fusion between the order of the capitals and friezes and the type of roof used: the ribbed vault, characteristic of the Gothic.

This cathedral, with a Renaissance façade and Baroque, late-Gothic and Plateresque interiors,[5] has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial gold work.

The Gothic-Renaissance style of the cathedral reflects that of Spain during the period of the Spanish conquest of South America and also Cusco.

This was a school that was built by the Spanish to educate the Incas and their descendants with the methods and disciplines of European renaissance style artwork.

[3] This school was famous throughout the colonial Americas, but the Quechua painters were limited to painting scenes of European and Catholic importance.

Here is a list of some of the most notable pieces found within the cathedral: The Church of Triumph, to use its English translation, was built in 1538, just three years after the conquistadores settled in Cusco.