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There are numerous Tourist Attractions in Cuzco among which Inca Roca's Palace is an important one. The palace is significant from historical as well as architectural aspect. The palace and the ruins of its walls remain and these attract tourists as well as archaeologists from all over the world. The walls of Inca Roca's Palace were built of 12-angled stone and it clearly evident from the ruins of the palace's walls. It is so famous that the adjacent streets is named as Hatunrumiyoc Street where 'Hatunrumiyoc' means 'Twelve-angle stone'.
Inca Roca's Palace in Cuzco was located at the corner of Hatunrumiyoc and Herrajes streets. The original palace is no more. On the ruins of Inca Roca's Palace the Archbishop's Palace has been built. Currently it is transformed to a museum of religious and colonial art which is open to the public. After the Spanish invasion in Peru, it was successively inhabited by different personalities such as the bishop Friar Vicente de Valverde, the marquis and marquise of San Juan de Buenavista and by the Valverde Contreras by Jarava, marquis and marquise of Rocafuerte.
The walls of Inca Roca's Palace are built with "green diorite" type of stones. The wall used to surround and protect the palace. From the ruins of the palace walls it is clearly visible that the wall boundary has a polygonal structure that is really admirable from the architectural point of view. The amazing feature of the wall is that the 12-angle stones are found in the middle of the wall's structure but its sides and corners are perfectly fitted with the other stones.
Above the stone walls there is an adobe wall. The stone front of the wall was decorated with the carved coats of arms. The bust columns at both sides of the main gate was a work from the XVIII century. Another wonderful detail of the palace front is the square balcony. The splendidly carved balcony surrounds the a window that is divided with a small column in the corner and the grills of Mudejar reminiscences.
Inside the former Inca Roca's Palace there is a large Renaissance yard with stone arcades and tiled walls. Surrounding the courtyard there are the museum rooms. The museum, opened in 1966 houses the collections of religious art formed by José Orihuela Yábar. Although the entire palace building was damaged by the earthquake in 1950, it has been beautifully restored. Today Inca Roca's Palace, is one of the important stop over during Sightseeing in Cuzco.
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