Pisco () is a city located in the

Department of Ica Ica (; ) is a Subdivisions of Peru, department and region of Peru. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Lima Region on the north; the Huancavelica Region, Huancavelica and Ayacucho Region, Ayacucho regions on the east; and the Arequipa ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, the capital of the Pisco Province. The city is around 9 metres (28 feet) above sea level. Pisco was founded in 1640, close to the indigenous emplacement of the same name. Pisco originally prospered because of its nearby vineyards and became noted for its grape brandy or piscoPisco (Peru) at Encyclopædia Britannica
/ref> which was exported from its port. Pisco has an estimated population of 104,656 (est. 2015).

History

Mid 16th Century: Pisco is Born

The town of Santa Maria Magdalena, which was founded in 1572, had a port named Pisco, after the name of the valley in which it was located. This port became an important route for distribution of the liqueur throughout Peru. Demand for the product grew as sailors from around the world who called into the Port of Pisco created an important international trade link and further demand for the product. Over time, the town of Santa Maria Magdalena became simply known as ' Pisco' with the same name adopted for the grape liqueur produced from the area. In a few decades, Pisco was distributed along the entire coast of Peru and Chile, as well as being exported through ports in the Pacific and Europe.

17th century

The city was highly populated until 1685, when it was pillaged by English pirates. The city suffered again in 1687 because of an earthquake. Vines are abundant, despite the sandy and infertile terrain; they grow in many places because of the moisture from inside the earth and provide Lima with its wines and grape concentrates that run along the various mountain provinces extending to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

. Pisco was attacked by the pirates Clerck and David; in addition, in 1687 it was destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

, which caused a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

to follow, destroying the city further. Viceroy Melchor Antonio Portocarrero Lazo de la Vega then moved it to its current location, reestablishing it in 1689 as "Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Concordia de Pisco".

Independence of Peru

In 1820, the Liberating Expedition arrived in Pisco under the command of

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

and Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, disembarking in the Bay of Paracas, where the first

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and the first

national emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag. Other national symbols, such as national ...

of Peru were created. In 1832, the Peruvian Congress ordered by

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

that the city of

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 ...

would receive the title of "Villa y Puerto de la Independencia", extending this qualification to both the town and the riverbank population. In 1868 the "town of Pisco" was designated capital of the new province of Chincha, and in 1898 it was elevated to the rank of "

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

". In 1947, the historian pisqueño Mamerto Castillo Negrón said that Pisco had received two additions in its history that granted it honors worthy of merit, the first being "Villa and Puerto de la Independencia" and second, its recognition as a provincial capital.

2007 earthquake

The city was very near the center of the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake which struck south central Peru on Wednesday 15 August 2007. Media officials reported that 80% of the city was destroyed, including the central San Clemente Cathedral of Pisco, located in Plaza de Armas in which

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was taking place at the time of the earthquake. The resulting dead account for a reported 30 percent of the total fatalities caused by the earthquake. Several hundred more were killed throughout the city Several years on, the city is still recovering from the damage done during the earthquake.

Geography

Climate

The city of Pisco experiences hot arid climate, with warm temperatures and extremely low rainfall prevailing all year-round. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Pisco has a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated ''BWh'' on climate maps. The average maximum temperature in the city is , ranging from a February peak of to a July low of . The average minimum temperature in the city is , fluctuating from to in the months of February and August respectively. Rainfall is extremely low; the average annual rainfall total amounts to a mere .

Transport

Pisco is served by the Capitán FAP Renán Elías Olivera Airport (IATA: PIO, ICAO: SPSO), located in Pisco (PIO). This international airport shares facilities with the

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

and is also designated as a back-up airport to the

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, northwest of the Historic Centre of Lima, the nation's capital city, and from the Miraflores District, Lima, dis ...

(IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPIM) in Lima, Peru. On September 4, 2012, President Ollanta Humala was present for the beginning of renovations to the airport, which is expected to be operational by 2015 with the ability to receive an anticipated 400,000 passengers a year in 2017.

Tourist attractions

Pisco is a Quechua word meaning "bird". The area is often visited because of the concentration of marine animals and birds at the Paracas National Reserve, or the ''Peruvian Galápagos''.Pisco at Trekker.co.il
/ref> At the reserve there are the Islas Ballestas, a collection of islands which are off limits to people, but boat tours can get close to. The Chincha Islands are also near its coast. Many bird species can be seen in the islands including

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

s, cormorants, Peruvian boobies, and Inca terns, as well as sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and whales. Another attraction in the area is El Candelabro, a giant lamp dug in the rough sand in the method used by the creators of the Nazca Lines. One of the major ancient civilizations in

, the Paracas culture, flourished in the area where Pisco sits. Due to its ease of access and its crossroads to the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, the Spaniards may have considered making Pisco the capital, before they decided on

. In the city is the

Plaza de Armas ''Plaza de armas'' (pl. ; literally ''arms square'' or ''place-of-arms'') is a Spanish language, Spanish term commonly used to refer to town square, town squares in Latin America, Spain and the Philippines, as well as a name commonly given to th ...

, where people buy tejas, small sweets made from pecans and assorted

dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...

s. Many different building that surround the Plaza are the statue of

, the mansion he lived in, and the Municipal Palace. Other building in the city is the heavily baroque Iglesia de la Compañía, begun in 1689, features a superb carved pulpit and gold-leaf altarpiece. Near the town, just off the road to Ayacucho, lies the large, well-preserved

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

site of Tambo Colorado.

Gallery

El Candelabro Peru Ballestas Islands.jpg, El Candelabro, the north part of the Paracas peninsula usually seen on tours going to the Ballestas Islands Sea Lion Isla Paracas.jpg, Pelicans, Ballestas Islands Sea Lion Islas Ballestas.jpg, Sea Lion, Ballestas Islands Das Strassenbild von Picso.jpg, Local taxi station Seals Island Ballestas.JPG, Seals on the Ballestas Islands

Notable people

* Raúl Porras Barrenechea, historian, diplomat * Juan de Dios Guevara, chemist * Sarah Roberts (1872-1913), the subject of a vampire legend, died and is buried in Pisco * Abraham Valdelomar, writer

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Pisco is twinned with: *

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

References

External links

Pisco and the Paracas National Reserve

Google books
{{Authority control Populated places in the Department of Ica Port cities in Peru Populated places established in 1640 1640 establishments in the Spanish Empire