The culture of Peru was made by the relationship between European and Ameridian cultures.The ethnic diversity and rugged geography of Peru allowed diverse traditions and customs to co-exist. The coastal, European influenced Peru has passed through various intellectual stages - from colonial Hispanic culture to European Romanticism after independence. The early 20th century brought "indigenismo", expressed in a new awareness of Indian culture. Since World War II, Peruvian writers, artists, and intellectuals such as César Vallejo and José María Arguedas have participated in worldwide intellectual and artistic movements.
Peruvian literature has its roots in the oral traditions of pre-Columbian Los Comentarios Reales de los Incas, published in 1609.
After independence, the monarchy wrote a book that spoke to all of the people. Costumbrism and Romanticism became the most common literary genres, as exemplified in the works of Priests. In the early 20th century, the Indigenismo movement produced such writers as Ciro Alegría,José María Arguedas, and César Vallejo. José Carlos Mariátegui's essays in the 1920s were a turning-point in the political and economic analysis of Peruvian history.
During the second half of the century, Peruvian literature became more widely known because of authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, a leading member of the Latin American Boom.
Peruvian architecture is a conjunction of European styles exposed to the influence of indigenous imagery. Two of the most well-known examples of the Early Colonial period are the Cathedral of Cusco and the Church of Santa Clara of Cuzco. After this period, the mestization reached its richer expression in the Baroque. Some examples of this Baroque period are the Convento de San Francisco, the Iglesia de la Compañía, and the facade of the University of Cuzco and, overall, the churches of San Agustín and Santa Rosa of Arequipa.