or CASCO, a large and handsome town of South America, capital of a cognominal department in Peru, 375 miles E. of Lima. S. Lat. 13° 30′; W. Long. 72° 4′. It is situated in a valley at the foot of some hills, and is 11,380 feet above sea level. Pop. about 45,000. Cuzco was formerly the capital of the empire of the Incas, and when taken possession of by the Spaniards under Pizarro in 1534, was a place of great splendour and magnificence. The famous temple of the Sun, a splendid edifice, superbly adorned with gold and silver figures, speedily fell a sacrifice to the cupidity and fanatical zeal of the conquerors. Portions of its walls are still to be seen, forming part of a magnificent Dominican convent. Upon a hill north of the town are the ruins of a very extensive fortress of the Incas, composed of polygonal-shaped stones of enormous size, some of them said to exceed in weight 150 tons. They are fitted together without cement, but with such nicety that their interstices are scarcely perceptible. In the plain to the south of the town are extensive remains of ancient edifices in the same style. The town is built in the form of a square, having in the centre a large market-place, in which four wide and straight streets converge. The houses are built of stone and covered with red tiles, and many of them still consist of the walls of the earlier structures. The cathedral and convent of St Augustine are considered to be among the finest religious edifices in the New World. The town has a university, collegiate schools, a mint, and several hospitals. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of woollen and cotton stuffs, leather, embroidery, &c.