COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN LIMA

Main Square, Lima

It was the center of the old Colonial city. The Cathedral of Lima, the Government Palace and the Provincial City Hall of Lima are located on its perimeter. At its center, there is a 17th Century bronze fountain.

Cathedral of Lima

Main Square. Visiting hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00 - 16:30,
It is placed where the first Main Church of Lima was. The interior is austere, although it shelters real historic jewels like the finely carved wooden pews of the Baltasar Noguera choir, different side altars, and the remains of Francisco Pizarro. In addition, you can visit the Museum of Religious Art that possesses an important collection of canvases, sculptures, chalices, and chasubles.

San Francisco Church and Convent

Jirón Ancash, block 3. Visiting hours: Monday to Sunday 9:30 - 17:30
A seventeenth century architectural complex. It includes the church, the convent, and the square. The church main front was carved in stone and is characterized by its Corinthian columns. In the facade, there is an open cornice with arches with an image of the Immaculate Conception. The cloistered area, decorated with tiles, houses the Vice-royal Art Museum. Additionally, you can visit the catacomb, which was a cemetery during the Colony.

Church of San Pedro

Jirón Ucayali 451. Visiting hours: Monday to Sunday 9:30 - 11:45 and 17:00 - 18:00
Built in 1636, the first floor was inspired by the main Jesuit Church in Rome and has three naves. It is the only church in Lima with three entrances, which is a characteristic of a cathedral. What stand out are the magnificent Churrigueresque shrines and the space of the central naves that seem to be surrounded by paintings and tiles. There are many works of art from the Lima, Cusco, and Quito Schools, a series of gilded carvings of the founders of some religious orders, and a painting of the coronation of the Virgin by Bernardo Bitti.

Santo Domingo Church and Convent

Intersection of Jirones Conde de Superunda and Camaná. Visiting hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00 - 12:30 and 15:00 - 18:00 & Sunday and holidays: 9:00 - 13:00
The church has three naves with an impressive cupola and finely carved cedar pews in the choir. The convent walls are decorated with tiles from Seville, and the main room features Baroque carvings. In 1551, the first university founded by the Spanish crown in the New World, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, was established in the convent.

Casa de Aliaga Colonial House

Jirón De la Unión 224. Visiting hours: Monday to Sunday 09:30- 16:00
Being built with 'quincha', an anti-seismic building material made of bamboo, mud, and adobe, erected on top of existing pre-Hispanic foundations. Its rooms had to be adapted to an irregular distribution and placed on different levels. The main facade possesses a Republican era balcony. It has lovely patios; the first is covered in nineteenth century Italian marble and the second is adorned with an old bronze fountain. The house has belonged to the same family since the year it was built (1535) and today is the location of different cultural events.

Torre Tagle Palace

(Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Jirón Ucayali 323. Visiting hours: Reservation required through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The construction of this two story building began in 1735 by order of the Marquis of Torre Tagle, Treasurer of the Spanish Royal Navy. It is considered to be one of the best representations of the eighteenth century Lima residential architectural style. Notable items are the carved wooden balcony, Baroque chapel decorated with mirrors and Colonial paintings, and the carefully worked stone entrance. Today, it is the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.