Building Cusco Cathedral

  • 1532

    Francisco Pizarro and 200 men enter northern Peru and capture Inca ruler Atahualpa in only four months.

  • 1533

    Pizarro enters Cusco without a fight and installs Manco Inca as ruler.

  • 1535

    Pizarro leaves Cusco and founds a new capital for the Spanish colony in Peru: Lima.

  • 1542

    King Charles V establishes the Viceroyality of Peru, making Lima the capital of a territory spanning from Colombia to Cape Horn.

  • 1559

    Design for new cathedral is completed by Spanish architect Juan Miguel de Veramendi.

  • 1559

    Native Quechua slaves begin constructing the Basilica Cathedral of our Lady of Assumption.

  • 1654

    The Basilica Cathedral of our Lady of Assumption is completed.

  • 1668

    The Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, a rival church in the Plaza de Armas, was begun in 1576 but suffered much more damage during the 1650 earthquake. The destruction allowed the builders to do a complete redesign and the result is a much more Baroque building than its counterpart.

  • 1735

    Iglesia del Triunfo is completed, replacing a small pavilion installed after the original church’s destruction.

  • 1735

    Iglesia de la Sagrada Familia is finished, marking completion of the final element of the present day complex.