Santo Domingo Church (Koricancha)
This plain looking Catholic monastery in the middle of Cusco does nothing to remind people of its formal spendor. This is the site of the Koricacha, or Temple of the Sun - the most sacred site for the Incas. When the Spanish first arrived, the base of the temple was covered with plates of solid gold (Incas referred to gold as "tears of the sun"). The conquering Spanish quickly made off with over 700 plates of solid gold, each plate averaging over 2 kilograms (5 pounds each). These inlayed gold plates were quickly melted down for transport overland to the coast and then on to Spain.