Coricancha

Coricancha (Qorikancha, 'Golden Temple') was the most sacred temple in the Inca Empire, located in Cusco, Peru. Originally built by Manco Capac around 1200 AD and extensively reconstructed by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438-1471), the temple walls were plated with approximately 700 gold sheets, each weighing 2 kg. Its gardens featured life-size gold and silver statues of llamas, jaguars, and human figures. The complex honoured Inti (sun), Viracocha, Quilla (moon), and other deities. After the Spanish conquest in 1533, the gold was stripped as ransom for Emperor Atahualpa, and the Dominican Order built the Church of Santo Domingo directly atop the Inca foundations.