"Mexico and Cusco"

Published by Braun and Hogenberg, 1572

From part one of the Civitates, this is an important early depiction of the important cities of colonial Spanish America, and is the only view in the entire work to depict cities of the New World.

Shown here are the great cities of the Aztec and Inca culture at the time of their conquest by the Spanish conquistadors under Cortes and Pizarro.

Mexico City is shown in its lake-center setting, with Cusco surrounded by impressive walled fortifications

Native figures fill the foregrounds of each view, with the Inca King, possibly Atahualpa, being carried aloft on a covered throne by somewhat idealized native followers.