The Plaza Mayor de Lima, or Plaza de Armas de Lima, is considered one of the birthplaces
/ref> of the city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, as well as the core of the city. Located in the

Historic Centre of Lima Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru. Foundation The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded by Francisco Piz ...

, it is surrounded by the Government Palace,

Lima Metropolitan Cathedral The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built between 1 ...

Archbishop's Palace of Lima The Archbishop's Palace of Lima, the capital of Peru, is the residence of the Archbishop of Lima, and the administrative headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima. It is located on the Plaza Mayor of Lima, in the Historic Centre of ...

, the Municipal Palace, and the Palacio de la Unión.

Overview

The Plaza de Armas is surrounded by the Jirón Junín, Jirón de la Unión, Jirón Huallaga, and the Jirón Carabaja streets. In 1523, King

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

mandated the ''Procedures for the creation of cities in the New World''. These procedures indicated that after outlining a city's plan, growth should follow a grid centered on the square shape of the plaza. On the day of the foundation of the city, January 18, 1535, the conquistador

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

, conforming to established procedure, designated a location to build the plaza. Later, Pizarro and Nicolás de Rivera, the city's first mayor, toured the city's location and split parcels. Pizarro, taking advantage of his title of founder and governor, took a large parcel of land between the north side of the plaza and the

Rímac River The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area. The river is part of the Pacific watershed and has a length of 204 km. The river begins in the highlan ...

. The lot to the south of the plaza was designated to be a church, the western lot was to be the site of a city council, and the rest of the lots were divided among the rest of the conquistadors. The 17th-century historian

Bernabé Cobo Padre Bernabé Cobo (born at Lopera in Spain, 1582; died at Lima, Peru, 9 October 1657) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary and writer. He played a part in the early history of quinine by his description of cinchona bark; he brought some to Europe o ...

said of the plaza:

It is the finest and most well-formed lazathat I have ever seen, even in Spain. It occupies an entire block, with the width of four streets on one side and four streets on the other, and with all four sides it measures more than two thousand feet; it is very ample.

Subsequently, the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Diego López de Zúñiga y Velasco Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

, count of Nieva, proposed the

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

, which had previously been located at the centre of the plaza, be moved nearer to the river to the location which is now the Desamparados train station. In place of it, a new water fountain was built at the centre of the plaza. The gallows were returned to the south side of the plaza on the Callejón de Petateros. The first water fountain built on the plaza was constructed by the

Francisco de Toledo Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of P ...

, and was inaugurated on October 21, 1578. It consisted of a baluster and an elevated bowl, and in it had eight pipes through which water fell into the bowl on the next level. A ball at the top of the fountain dispersed water back onto the lower levels. The seal of the city was inscribed on this ball. The water fountain was replaced in by the

García Sarmiento de Sotomayor García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pam ...

Count of Salvatierra Count of Salvatierra ( es, Conde de Salvatierra) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1613 by Philip III to Diego Sarmiento de Sotomayor, Lord of Salvaterra and of the Castle of ...

, who inaugurated it on September 8, 1651. This fountain remains as the centerpiece of the plaza to this day. During the colonial era, the plaza served as a market, bull fighting ring, and the city gallows. The plaza also became home to the ''

auto-da-fé An ''auto-da-fé'' ( ; from Portuguese , meaning 'act of faith'; es, auto de fe ) was the ritual of public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries of condemned heretics and apostates imposed by the Spanish, Portuguese, or Mexi ...

'' in which the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

occurred. The tribunal of the Inquisition had one of its three courts located in

. The first conviction occurred on November 15, 1573, and this was the first heretic to be tried and executed in the New World. In 1622, the

Cathedral of Lima The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built betwee ...

is completed. This church still stands today on the plaza. In the early nineteenth century, chef

Juan José Cabezudo Juan José Cabezudo (died 1860) was a Peruvian chef and street-food vendor, who worked in Lima during the first half of the 19th century. Writers such as Ricardo Palma wrote about his food as well as his homosexuality. Biography Whilst little ...

had a food stall in the Escribanos portal, a place very close to the plaza, where he served typical Peruvian dishes, including

tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

s. In 1821,

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

proclaimed the

Independence of Peru The Peruvian War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia del Perú, links=no) consisted in a series of military conflicts in Peru beginning with viceroy Abascal military victories in the south frontier in 1809, in La Paz revolution a ...

on this plaza. After this historic event, the flag of the new republic was paraded around the plaza. In 1855,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest pr ...

inaugurated the first public gas lighting system which were first installed on the light posts of the plaza. Also at this time, gardens were planted on the plaza as up until this time it was made of pavement. In 1860, the first railThe Tramways Of Peru
/ref> ways for

trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...

were installed on the plaza. In 1922, construction of the

was completed. In 1938, the Government Palace was completed and in 1944 the Municipal Palace was completed.

Surroundings

'
360° view of Plaza Mayor, Lima
''

References

Bibliography

* Cobo, Bernabé. ''"Historia de la Fundación de Lima"'' * Bromley, Juan. ''"Las viejas calles de Lima"'' Lima: Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima. Gerencia de Educación, Cultura y Deportes. Edilibros; 2005. * Joffre, Gabriel Ramón. ''"El guión de la cirugía urbana: Lima 1850-1940"'' {{Lima landmarks

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Spanish Colonial architecture in Peru Parks in Peru

Overview

Surroundings

See also

References

Bibliography