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On behalf of the citizens of the city of Cusco-Perú, it is a pleasure to extend my warmest greetings and welcome to the old Capital of the Inca Empire.
Our city with more than three thousand years of history, is the result of multiple and diverse local traditions and foreign influences that allowed it to be nominated by UNESCO as Heritage of Humanity since 1983, and whose values are the archaeological evidences of monumental sites, its rich natural patrimony and the vast immaterial heritage of their inhabitants, that you will be able to know.
Cusco is proud to host the 8 th World Symposium of the Organization of World Heritage Cities and invites you, the Mayor and representatives of the World Heritage Cities, the scientists, the experts and the young people to participate in this important Symposium, as well as to visit our attractive city and feel the warmth of their people, that will assure you a pleasant and unforgettable stay.
Mayors, experts and young people of the 203 patrimonial cities of the world and of other historical cities, will find in Cusco the common place to discuss and to evaluate the administration and protection that our cities have deserved along the time, in the context of the main topic: "Heritage of the Humankind, an Heritage with Humanity."
My fellow citizens will be very pleased with your visit, due to the important contribution your presence will mean.
We are waiting for you in September, 2005.
Carlos Valencia Miranda
Mayor of the City of Cusco
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On behalf of the Organization of World Heritage Cities, it is my honor to invite you to the 8 th World Symposium of the OWHC in Cusco , 20-23 September 2005. The selection of the City of Cusco , which is an active member of the OWHC, to host the 8 th World Symposium, expresses the recognition of its cultural authenticity and, equally important, of the way it is protected and managed.
Given the enthusiasm of the City of Cusco for hosting the Symposium, and the challenging theme, I am certain that the 8 th World Symposium will be a memorable and productive event for everyone in attendance.
I call on all members of the Organization of World Heritage Cities to join us at the World Symposium. I look forward to meeting you in Cusco for what promises to be an enjoyable and enriching experience.
George Giannopoulos
Mayor of Rhodes
President of the OWHC
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Cusco, Host of the 8th World Symposium of the OWHC |
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View of the Main Square of Cusco (1986)
Photo: Jörg Albrecht (Peru Discovery) |
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Cusco, located in the narrow valley of the Huatanay river, 3,300 meters above sea level, is the only urban centre of the central Andes whose life has never been interrupted for at least thirty centuries, as evidenced by the archaeological ruins that we can still admire.
The domination of the sacred city of the Incas, capital of the former "Tawantinsuyu" territory or "the four parts of the world", which covered the territory now occupied by five Andean republics, was relatively short, namely from 1440 to the arrival of the Spaniards, in 1532. The Inca civilization, which is one of the five self-sufficient civilizations in universal history and the result of the experience accumulated throughout ten thousand years of occupation of the Andes, had impressed the first Spaniards because of its advanced technology in matters of bridge and road
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construction, its hydraulic control projects, the movement of the population to the various regions, the coordination of the agricultural schedule, the vertical control of ecological layers, indigenous plant and animal domestication, just to name a few of their very outstanding achievements. If, to these achievements, we add the evolution in ashlar work of great perfection, the mastery of ceramics, the rich textile works and other artistic expressions that were created and developed during this short period, the city of Cusco represented the synthesis of this evolution.
The founding of the Spanish city, which was awarded the title of "very illustrious, very noble and very faithful City of Cusco, the most important capital of the Kingdoms of Peru", as quoted in the Royal Charter promulgated in Seville in 1540, dates back to the month of March 1534. The colonial city, which was built by adapting to the Inca City, is the most significant example of the overlapping of two cultures in Hispanic America and, without a doubt, the most outstanding example of a city that was able to preserve its identity. In many aspects, the 17th century was for Cusco a real golden age. And in this attractive stone city of the Incas, two aristocracies, Quechua and Spaniards, competed in the construction and decoration of splendid buildings, some of which were devoted to the Catholic religion, where as others were designed to accommodate noble families of both races.
Neither the Spanish conquest, the two earth-quakes that almost destroyed the city completely, the deep economic crisis that befell it in the 19th century, nor even the intense urban process which it must now face or the ongoing battle between its two ethnic components have succeeded in altering its character.
Cusco, with its millennium image, its traditions and its people, is preparing to welcome the outstanding visitors who will attend the 8th World Symposium of the Organization of World Heritage Cities.
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