Italy Square (), formerly known as

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

's Square (), is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the

Barrios Altos Barrios Altos is a Peruvian neighbourhood that forms the eastern part of Lima District, part of the historic centre of the city. It owes its name to the fact that, topographically, it is higher than the rest of the old part of the City, due to t ...

neighbourhood 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 ...

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 ...

. It was the second square built by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

during the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

and later served as one of the four squares where the

independence of Peru The Peruvian War of Independence () was a series of military conflicts in Peru from 1809 to 1826 that resulted in the country's independence from the Spanish Empire. Part of the broader Spanish American wars of independence, it led to the dis ...

was declared in the city.

History

The second square to be laid out in Lima, it took its original name from the

Indian hospital The Indian hospitals were racially segregated hospitals, originally serving as tuberculosis sanatoria but later operating as general hospitals for indigenous peoples in Canada which operated during the 20th century. The hospitals were origin ...

located next to it. Of this hospital, only the chapel remains, currently functioning as a church. With the construction of the neighbourhood or redoubt of ''Cercado de Indias'', later known as ''Santiago del Cercado'', a series of streets were laid out that would give rise to the current neighbourhood of

. In 1821,

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 ...

declared the

Independence of Peru The Peruvian War of Independence () was a series of military conflicts in Peru from 1809 to 1826 that resulted in the country's independence from the Spanish Empire. Part of the broader Spanish American wars of independence, it led to the dis ...

in this square, as he had previously done in 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 ...

and the square of La Merced. In the middle of the 19th century, in its surroundings, the largest Italian neighbourhood of the city was established, highlighting among them the Quinta Carbone and the Quinta Baselli. In honour of one of its greatest neighbours, the Italian naturalist

Antonio Raimondi Antonio Raimondi (September 19, 1826 – October 26, 1890) was an Italian-born Peruvian geographer and scientist. Born in Milan, Raimondi emigrated to Peru in 1850, arriving at the port of Callao on July 28. In 1851 he became a professor of ...

, it was renamed ''Plaza Italia'' after the inauguration of the monument in 1910 by then president

Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (27 July 1851, Arica – 28 June 1915, Iquique) was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvia ...

Gallery

Iglesia del Corazón de Jesús (San José), Barrios Altos.jpg, Church of the Heart of Jesus (a.k.a. San José) Santa Ana Lima Peru.jpg, Church of Saint Anne Estàtua d'Antonio Raimondi a la plaça Itàlia, Lima02.jpg, Statue of

Placa de l'estàtua d'Antonio Raimondi a la plaça Itàlia, Lima.jpg, Detail of the statue's base Façana d'edifici a la Plaça Italia de Lima.jpg, Surroundings of the square Façana d'edifici de la plaza Italia, Barrios Altos.jpg, Ditto. Plazasantaana facultaddemedicinasanfernado unmsm.jpg, 19th century view of the square

References

{{coord, -12.05077, -77.02275, format=dms, type:landmark_region:PE, display=title Squares in Lima Barrios Altos National University of San Marcos

History

Gallery

See also

References