Plaza Mayor de Lima

Wikipedia dates the plaza to the founding of Lima on 18 January 1535. In 1523 Charles I of Spain had issued procedures for creating New World cities, which called for a grid growing out from a central plaza, and Lima follows that pattern. The square is bounded by the streets Carabaya, Junin, Huallaga and Union. The 17th-century historian Bernabe Cobo called it the finest and best-formed plaza he had seen, even compared with those in Spain.

The first fountain was inaugurated by Viceroy Francisco de Toledo on 21 October 1578. Viceroy Garcia Sarmiento de Sotomayor replaced it and inaugurated the present bronze fountain on 8 September 1651. During the colonial period the plaza served as a market, a bullring and a place of public executions. It was also the setting of Inquisition autos-da-fe, the first conviction there being recorded on 15 November 1573.

The Metropolitan Cathedral, completed in 1622 according to Wikipedia, occupies one side. Other landmarks include the Archbishop's Palace, completed in 1922, the Government Palace, completed in 1938, and the Municipal Palace, completed in 1944. The Palacio de la Union, home of a private club, also faces the plaza. Many of these buildings are later structures on colonial foundations, so the square shows several centuries of style, from viceregal to early twentieth century.

The plaza has been the stage for national events. In 1821 Jose de San Martin proclaimed Peru's independence here. In 1855 President Ramon Castilla inaugurated the first public gas lighting and gardens were planted, and tram rails were laid across the square in 1860. The article also records that the square was attacked with car bombs in 1985 and 1986 during the internal conflict, a reminder of its role as a symbolic centre of the state.

The square's role has changed over time. Under the viceroyalty it was the commercial and administrative core, with merchants' arcades and the seats of church and crown facing each other across open ground. After independence it became the place where the republic staged its ceremonies and protests, and today pedestrians, guards and tour groups share the space around the central fountain.

The plaza is part of the Historic Centre of Lima, which UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site in 1991. The square is open and walkable, with the surrounding streets forming a dense district of colonial balconies and churches. A private guided visit with a driver can place the plaza in the wider story of the viceroyalty and the republic.