Of the principal churches the fronts are elegant and the steeples more numerous and more elevated than might be expected in a country so subject to earthquakes as Peru. The architecture displayed in the façades of these churches is more worthy of being called a peculiar composite than any regular order; but in a great many instances this peculiarity is pleasing: a particular description of them will be given in the course of this work.
The outer walls of the houses are generally built of adobes as far as the first floor, and the division walls are always formed of canes, plastered over on each side; this is called _quincha_: the upper story is made first of a frame-work of wood; canes are afterwards nailed or lashed with leather thongs on each side the frame-work; they are then plastered over, and the walls are called _bajareque_. These additions so considerably increase their bulk, that they seem to be composed of very solid materials, both with respect to the thickness which they exhibit, and the cornices and other ornaments which adorn them. Porticos, arches, mouldings, &c. at the doorways are generally formed of the same materials. Canes bound together and covered with clay are substituted also for pillars, as well as other architectural ornaments, some of which being well executed, and coloured like stone, a stranger at first sight easily supposes them to be built of the materials they are intended to imitate. The roofs being flat are constructed of rafters laid across, and covered with cane, or cane mats, with a layer of clay sufficient to intercept the rays of the sun, and to guard against the fogs. Many of the better sort of houses have the roofs covered with large thin baked bricks, on which the inhabitants can walk; these asoteas, as they are called, are very useful, and are often overspread with flowers and plants in pots; they also serve for drying clothes and other similar purposes. Among the higher classes the ceilings are generally of pannel work, ornamented with a profusion of carving; but among the lower they are often of a coarse cotton cloth, nailed to the rafters and whitewashed, or painted in imitation of pannel work. In several of the meaner, however, the canes or cane mats are visible.