Cusco, Peru

Cusco was the centre of the Inca empire, and the Spanish built their city directly on top of it rather than clearing it — colonial churches and arcades resting on Inca foundation walls whose stonework is visibly better than anything laid on top. The joints need no mortar and have held through the earthquakes that brought the later buildings down. These frames run from the city out into the Sacred Valley and the Taray district along the Urubamba.