Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as La Ciudad de los Reyes, or "The City of Kings." It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, after the Peruvian War of Independence, was made the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.
Over the next few years, Lima gained prestige as it was designated capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. During the next century Lima flourished as the center of an extensive trade network which integrated the Viceroyalty with the Americas, Europe and the Far East. However, the city was not free from dangers; powerful earthquakes destroyed most of the city in 1687. A second threat was the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean, which led to the building of the Lima City Walls between 1684 and 1687. he 1687 earthquake marked a turning point in the history of Lima as it coincided with a recession in trade and economic competition by other cities such as Buenos Aires.
In 1746, a powerful earthquake severely damaged Lima and destroyed Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco. In the later half of the 18th century, the ideas of the Enlightenment on public health and social control shaped the development of the city. During this period, Lima was adversely affected by the Bourbon Reforms as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and its control over the important mining region of Upper Peru. This economic decline made the city's elite dependent on royal and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence.
A combined expedition of Argentine and Chilean patriots under General José de San Martín managed to land south of Lima in 1820 but did not attack the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land, Viceroy José de la Serna was forced to evacuate the city on July 1821 to save the Royalist army. Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order, the city council invited San Martín to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of Independence at his request. However, the war was not over; in the next two years the city changed hands several times and suffered exactions from both sides.
After the war of independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru but economic stagnation and political turmoil brought urban development to a halt. This hiatus ended in the 1850s, when increased public and private revenues from guano exports led to a rapid expansion of the city. However, the export-led economic expansion also widened the gap between rich and poor, fostering social unrest. During the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, Chilean troops occupied Lima, looting public museums, libraries and educational institutions. At the same time, angry mobs attacked wealthy citizens and the Asian population; sacking their properties and businesses. After the war, the city underwent a process of renewal and expansion from the 1890s up to the 1920s. During this period the urban layout was modified by the construction of big avenues which crisscrossed the city and connected it with neighboring towns.
Cathedral at Parque Kennedy
Peaseant women selling crafts at Kennedy park
The Calle de las Pizzas ("Pizza Street") in downtown Miraflores, a favourite among Lima's teenagers and young adults, has many pubs which every weekend are filled with people.
Larcomar
Several paragliders are seen here on a cloudy day at Larcomar.
Eating at the historic restaurant at Huaca Pucllana.
Tamale and Beef hearts...and of course, a Pisco Sour
Dinner with Atchawee and Vatana
Cuy: Peruvian fried Guinea Pig....yum!
Outside our hotel, Casa Andina Miraflores
Larcomar at night
Folk dancers at dinner at La Retama in Larcomar
Traditional colonial church and buildings
Huaca Pucllana
The only pre-Inca ruin remaining in Miraflores, Huaca Pucllana (formerly Hispanicized as Juliana) can still be seen. The Spanish town of Miraflores was established in the 16th century. However it was merged into the Lima Metropolitan Area as the city expanded during the early 20th century. During the War of the Pacific(1879-1885), the district was the scene of the Battle of Miraflores. Two thousand people died as a result and the district was sacked and burned by Chilean invaders.
Historic Centre of Lima
The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded by Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535 and given the name City of the Kings. Nevertheless, with time its original name persisted, which may come from one of two sources: Either the Aymara language lima-limaq (meaning "yellow flower"), or the Spanish pronunciation of the Quechuan word rimaq (meaning "talker", and actually written and pronounced limaq in the nearby Quechua I languages). It is worth noting that the same Quechuan word is also the source of the name given to the river that feeds the city, the Rimac river (pronounced as in the politically dominant Quechua II languages, with an "r" instead of an "l"). Early maps of Peru show the two names displayed jointly.
In 1988, UNESCO declared the historic center of Lima a World Heritage Site for its originality and high concentration of historic monuments constructed in the time of Spanish presence.
Basilica Cathedral
The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, which has become one of the main symbols of the city, started construction the same year the city was founded; 1535. Since then there have been numerous remodilations. The Cathedral of Lima displays a form architecture that makes it unique in all of South America, of the style of the viceroyal time. The benches of the cathedral are of the finest quality as well are the of the benches of their Choir. The Greater Altar is covered with gold bread and has images of the viceroyal time. Within the Cathedral, are the ashes of the founder of the City of the Kings, today City of Lima, Francisco Pizarro. Every year, in the month patriotism, is celebrated the mass Te Deum in gratefulness by the independence from Spain. A custom retaken by the Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, is to give the mass all Sundays at 11:00 a.m. In 2005 the current mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda Lossio, created the project of illuminating the cathedral with new lights.
Plaza Mayor
The Plaza Mayor is at the exact location where Francisco Pizarro founded Lima. In this plaza some of the most excellent facts of the history of the country have been developed. Initially, there were small stores and commerce. Also, it was the scene of in excess of bulls and served like the site of execution of the condemned until death by the Court of Santa Inquisición. In 1651, a bronze battery was placed in the center of the seat that lasts to date. It was in the Plaza Mayor where it was proclaimed, in 1821, the Act of Independence of Peru. It is surrounded by the Palace by Government, the Municipality of Lima, the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace.
Archbishop Palace
The Archbishop Palace is the home of the Archbishop of Lima. It is a popular tourist attraction in the Historical centre of Lima, Peru. The first major church began construction in 1535. Pope Paul III turned it into an episcopal seat in 1541. In 1547, Lima was elevated to an archdiocese, which turned it by a short period, in the more extensive ecclesiastical circumscription of the world. The patron of the episcopal seat is Saint Rosa of Lima.
Balconies of Lima
Of the structures in the historical center of Lima, situated are more than 1,600 balconies that were built in the viceroyalty era as well as in the republic. In order to retain its conservation, the Municipality of Lima has invited individuals and companies to adopt a balcony in order to maintain them as if they were new. The abundance of these balconies adds to the particular harmony and originality to this part of the city.
Different types and styles of balconies can be seen in a single street, the Osambela House itself has three different types.
Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
This architectonic complex was constructed in the seventeenth century and is made up by the church and the convent of San Francisco, as well as of the chapels of the Solitude and the Miracle. During your visit their claustros can be appreciated, their patios adorned with Sevillian tiles and the library. Here it is the headquarters of the Museum of Religious Art and the Zurbarán Room. Under this complex there is a network of underground galleries and catacombs that were a cemetery at the colonial time and which are also very much visited.
Catacombs under the Church
Parque De Amor
Museo Larco Herrera
The Larco Museum (Spanish: Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera) is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th century vice-royal mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It boasts one of the world's largest collections of pre-Columbian art including Moche, Nazca, Chimú, and Inca pieces. Additionally, the Larco Museum is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery.
It was one of the first museums in the world to make its entire 45,000 piece collection available in an online electronic catalog.
In 1925, Rafael Larco Herrera acquired a collection of vases and other archaeological pieces from Alfredo Hoyle, his brother-in-law. There were approximately 600 ceramic pieces in all. The arrival of these objects ignited a collector's enthusiasm in his son, Rafael Larco Hoyle. Soon after, Larco Herrera left his son in charge of the collection and those pieces completed the first collection of what would become the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum.
During that same year, Larco Hoyle received some advice from his uncle, Victor Larco Herrera, a founder of the first museum in Lima. He urged Larco Hoyle to form a new museum in Lima, one that could guard all the archaeological relics that were continually being extracted by clandestine excavators.
Larco Hoyle agreed with his uncle and proceeded to create a museum that would carry on his father's legacy. Larco Hoyle purchased two large collections: 8000 pieces from Roa and 6000 pieces from Carranza. He also purchased several small collections in Chicama Valley, Trujillo, Virú, and Chimbote. Within a year, the collection had grown significantly and display cases were installed in a small house on the Chiclín estate. On July 28, 1926, Independence Day, the Museum opened its doors to the public.
The Larco Museum now lends some of its collection to its daughter museum, the Museo de Arte Precolombino (Pre-Columbian Art Museum), located in Cusco, Peru.
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