Casa Concha, Cultural heritage museum in Cusco, Peru

Casa Concha is a colonial building with thick stone walls and open courtyards in central Cusco. The house holds a collection of over 360 archaeological objects from various periods, displayed throughout the building's rooms.

The present house was built in 1710 on the site of Puka Marka, where the palace of Túpac Inca Yupanqui, son of Pachacutec, once stood. After the Spanish founding of Cusco the plot passed through owners including Diego de Santiago, General Pedro Alonzo Hinojosa (1533), Pedro Alonso Carrasco (1600) and Diego López de Barrionuevo. The 1710 work added mural painting, carved wood, the stone doorway and baroque balconies. From 2001 the house belongs to the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, and since 2011 it houses the Museo Machu Picchu.

The name Casa Concha comes from the Santiago Concha family: José de Santiago Concha y Salvatierra, oidor of the Lima Audiencia and interim president of Chile's, was granted the title Marquis of Casa Concha by Felipe V on 8 June 1778. Since 2011 the house has held the Museo Machu Picchu, whose rooms display the archaeological collection.

The entrance is on Calle Santa Catalina Angosta, a few steps from the Plaza de Armas. From the doorway a zaguán with a stone arch leads to the main patio; the stairway to the upper floor rises in the southeast gallery. The building now houses the Museo Machu Picchu, so expect exhibition rooms rather than furnished salons.

Casa Concha has housed the Museo Machu Picchu since 2011, after President Valentín Paniagua handed the building to the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco in 2001. Look for the Inca cancha wall in the exterior stonework, cut through to open colonial doorways.