Cuzco by Michael J Schreffler

Cuzco by Michael J Schreffler

A story of change in the Inca capital told through its artefacts, architecture, and historical documents Through objects, buildings, and colonial texts, this book tells the story of how Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire, was transformed into a Spanish colonial city. When Spaniards invaded and conquered Peru in the 16th century, they installed in Cuzco not only a government of their own but also a distinctly European architectural style. Layered atop the characteristic stone walls, plazas, and trapezoidal portals of the former Inca town were columns, arcades, and even a cathedral. This fascinating book charts the history of Cuzco through its architecture, revealing traces of colonial encounters still visible in the modern city. A remarkable collection of primary sources reconstructs this narrative: writings by secretaries to colonial administrators, histories conveyed to Spanish translators by native Andeans, and legal documents and reports. Cuzco’s infrastructure reveals how the city, wracked by devastating siege and insurrection, was reborn as an ethnically and stylistically diverse community.

“The book analyses the sources with great care. . . This is a fine work of history and in particular of urban history, especially of its origins as an urbanity alien to the western concept of a city.”—Graham Kent, Journal of Historic Buildings and Places

Winner of the Spiro Kostof Book Award, sponsored by the Society of Architectural Historians

Michael J. Schreffler is associate professor in the Department of Art, Art History & Design at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300218114
ISBN 10	0300218117
Title	Cuzco
Author	Michael J Schreffler
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	2020-07-14
Number of pages	200
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.