The Plaza Mayor (English: ''

Town 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 ...

''), also known as the Plaza de Armas, is the main public square of the historic centre of 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 ...

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 dates back to the foundation of the city by

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

on January 18, 1535. Delimited by Carabaya, Junín, Huallaga, and Unión streets, it is surrounded by a number of major landmarks, including the Government Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, and the Palacio de la Unión.

History

In 1523, King

Charles I of Spain Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

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 Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

, 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. It belongs to the Pacific Slope, into which it flows after bathing the cities of Lima and Callao, togethe ...

. 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 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 on a vi ...

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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

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

, count of Nieva, proposed the

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

, 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 ...

, and was inaugurated on October 21, 1578. It consisted of a

baluster A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

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, Count of Salvatierra, who inaugurated it on September 8, 1651. This fountain remains as the centerpiece of the plaza to this day. 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 ...

, 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 language, Portuguese or Spanish language, Spanish (, meaning 'act of faith') was a ritualized or public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries in condemnation of heresy, heretics, Aposta ...

'' in which the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

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

Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, commonly known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima, and formerly the Iglesia Metropolitana de los Reyes, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Lima, Peru. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Lima. Its construction be ...

is completed. This church still stands today on the plaza. In the early nineteenth century, chef Juan José Cabezudo 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 language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

s. 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 ...

proclaimed the Independence of Peru 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 p ...

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 (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

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

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 Archdiocese of Lima. It is located at the Plaza Mayor, in the Historic Centre of Lima. History Locat ...

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

Surroundings

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"''

External links

360° view of the Plaza Mayor, Lima
{{Lima landmarks Historic Centre of Lima

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Spanish Colonial architecture in Peru Parks in Lima

History

Surroundings

See also

References

Bibliography

External links