The Moorish Arch (), also called the Friendship Arch () or Spanish Arch, was a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

installed at the beginning of Leguía Avenue (today

Arequipa Avenue Arequipa Avenue (), formerly known as Leguía Avenue (), is one of the main avenues of Lima, Peru. It extends from north to south in the districts of Lima, Lince, San Isidro and Miraflores along 52 blocks. It has a bike path located along its ...

) in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru. It was made in a

neo-Moorish Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...

style, inaugurated in 1924 as part of the Centennial of the Independence of Peru and demolished in 1939.

Overview

The arch was located on the first block of

Avenida Leguía Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

, intersection with the Avenida 28 de Julio, in the

Santa Beatriz Santa Beatriz is a neighbourhood in Lima District. It is the southernmost area of the district. It limits to the north, with the historic centre of Lima; to the east, with La Victoria; to the south, with Lince; and to the west, with Jesús Mar ...

neighbourhood; It had a height of 29 meters. It was made of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

with

majolica In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery. Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, ''maiolica'' was a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...

decorations in the shape of stars and crescents, as well as two

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

History

In 1921, during the second government of

Augusto B. Leguía Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (19 February 1863 – 6 February 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the " Oncenio" after its eleven-year length. ...

, the Centennial of the Independence of Peru was celebrated and many colonies of foreign residents decided to grant gifts in the form of monuments to the

Peruvian State {{unreferenced, date=January 2014 The Peruvian State, which is conceptually the Peruvian nation legally organized, is the entity that holds the government in the Republic of Peru. The state's structure is defined in the Constitution of Peru approve ...

. The gift of the

Spanish colony The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

was the ''Friendship Arch'', a Moorish-style construction whose author is unknown. The original plans, deposited in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, were lost due to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Construction began on its building on July 10, 1923, and it was delivered to the city of Lima on July 17, 1924. The inauguration ceremony was lavish, with the presence of President Augusto B. Leguía, the mayor of Lima Pedro Rada y Gamio, , as representative of the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

, and Arias Carraseno, representing the Spanish colony. In 1938, President

Óscar R. Benavides Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (March 15, 1876 – July 2, 1945) was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th (1914–1915, by coup d'état) and 42nd (1933–1939) President of Peru, with his latter term being ...

and his Minister of Development,

Héctor Boza Héctor C. Boza Aizcorbe (12 December 1888 – 14 July 1974) was a Peruvian engineer and politician. He was minister of Public Works and Development (1933–1935; 1936; and 1937–1939), senator for Ica (1945–1948); First Vice President of P ...

, ordered the demolition of the monument, alluding to traffic problems that it caused, and to widen

. The destruction with dynamite the following year caused unrest in the Spanish community, and some even interpreted Benavides' order as an act of political revenge against former President Leguía. At the end of 2015, the National Association of the

International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; ) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was fou ...

(ICOMOS) warned of the destruction of the footings of the remains of the Arch by the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian construction company OAS, which was carrying out construction work on an overpass in the July 28 Avenue. The lawsuit filed by ICOMOS also reached the

Municipality of Lima The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima () is the local government entity of the Lima Province and Lima District. It is the only provincial municipality of special regime with faculties of regional government. It is established according to the 20 ...

and the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

New Arch

, a politician from Lima, carried out initiatives for its reconstruction in the original location on Arequipa Avenue when he was a councilor of the

. When his motion was rejected, he relocated his proposal to the exit of the Vía Expresa, then to the Higuereta roundabout. They offered to reinstall it on , but he considered that it was not a good option. Years later, when he was mayor of the

Santiago de Surco Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Mira ...

district, he was able to carry out the work, with the financing of various Spanish companies. On September 25, 2001, Mayor Dargent and the Spanish colony, with the presence of the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, inaugurated the new Friendship Arch, a faithful copy of its predecessor, located in the María Graña Ottone Friendship Park, in the intersection of Alfredo Benavides and Caminos del Inca avenues.

References

{{coord missing, Peru Monuments and memorials in Peru 1924 in Peru 1939 in Peru 2001 in Peru Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Buildings and structures demolished in 1939 Demolished buildings and structures in Peru Santiago de Surco District

Overview

History

New Arch

See also

References