The History

INKA PERIOD
Plaza Las Nazarenas, the sector where La Casona is situated was part of Inka Pumakurko neighborhood, which contained vital Kancha (Inka settlement) according to chronicler Garcilazo de la Vega. The most significant Kanchas in the neighborhood were Panakas Huáscar, the school site of the Warakos or warriors and those of Yachay Wasi or high school that was right next to the cultivated terraces on the hills towards the Watanay and Choquechaca Rivers.

The distribution of the Kanchas, facilitated the establishment of Spanish ancestral homes, still currently evident in some parts of the sector.

COLONIAL PERIOD
The Spanish influence began when the first division of land parcels were given in 1534. After the earthquake of March 1650, the character of the colonial urban Cusco was defined by superimposed Spanish architecture over the Inka structures. When the Spaniards built their homes, they adapted the basic Inkan structural elements and morphed these with their construction. Thus, the manor was built and traced from the Inka layout with regular and linear geometry around a central courtyard.

Following the Spanish conquest, the La Casona property went under the possession of the first Spanish conquistadors and its first occupant was Captain Francisco Barrientos, lieutenant of Diego de Almagro. During the civil strife among the Spaniards, the house was confiscated by Juan Balza and thereafter, occupied by Juan Alvarez Maldonado.

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