HISTORY
Lima, with over eight million inhabitants is the capital of Peru and the current Republican was the old English viceroyalty of the same name since 1544. Francisco Pizarro founded in January 1535 with the name City of the Kings, two weeks late on day 6. It was erected in the camp of the Indian chief Taulichusco between the Pacific and the hill of San Cristobal, on the banks of the Rimac River. Pizarro could not foresee Lima that summer and the winter drizzle location in a seismic zone. In that same sixteenth century it was attacked by Francis Drake and in the seventeenth century, is surrounded by a wall, the remains are now in the park of the same name in the side of the convent of San Francisco and the Rimac.
The Enlightenment was vital for the development of the city of Lima. King Philip V ordered a lot of strength in El Callao, the seaport, the Real Felipe, to defend against pirate attacks last. After the earthquake that struck in 1746, the great Rioja and English viceroy, the Earl of Superunda, rebuilt and, with his successor, Viceroy Amat, the city had an active social life that exceeded the same Madrid from distant metropolis. In fact, Lima has always been a lively city.
After independence (in 1821 by General San Martín) the city still had tragic events as the Chilean invasion in 1881 and another earthquake in 1940. In the second half of the twentieth century the city had a wave of terrorism by Sendero Luminoso and strong insecurity with high rates of crime. Since 1991, entered the list of world heritage cities by UNESCO and, since then the situation began to change something and to receive large numbers of American and European tourists as a step on the road to Cuzco and Machu Pichu.
LIMA, TODAY, THE EYE OF A SPANISH
The recently Lima finished in 2009 I met, around Easter, travel completed in the austral winter and the recent Christmas. I actually met for the first time America. It was a dream come true, my baptism in the New World, a continent so deeply attached to Spain. Since then, I confess that Peru has captivated me. Its capital, too little appreciated in general, also has an interest. It's certainly not Rome or Paris, or New York or even Buenos Aires, but you can not deny your charm, which is found in several trips and walking through its streets and attentive observation and treatment to its people . In all three trips I will show three things stand out in their flat in checkerboard blocks with parallel and perpendicular streets. We will see only a small part of the megalopolis: the square formed between the Rimac River to NE, and successive avenues of Tacna (NW), Nicolas de Pierola (SW), and Abancay (SE). It is a small enclosure of colonial Lima that stretched across the SE and Barrios Altos, Chinatown today about Capon Street, NW from Tacna, around the Shrine of Santa Rosa, SW to the old boundary wall , and NE Rimac, with the neighborhood of the same name, with the hill of San Cristobal as a watchdog of the city and its surroundings, with good views of the Andes and the ocean near the vast blue Pacific. This square is a jewel of architecture, divided in two by the busy pedestrian Jiron de la Union. In this building lives a remarkable collection of buildings from the baroque, art nouveau, modern buildings, eclectic, and an endless list of houses, both colonial and republican. Wandering the streets may be complicated somewhat, as the guides and maps put the modern name of the streets but in the large and decorated facades projecting signs with their former colonial name, with the modern names hardly visible.
Lima Map of temples
STARTED WALK
Our tour begins in the Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor. The religious building representative of this urban space is the CATHEDRAL (1) . The building is very uninteresting and restored by the destruction caused by the earthquakes that have affected and will affect the city. It contains the remains of Pizarro. Attached to it is the Capilla del Sagrario and later on the same side, and also attached, the Archbishop's Palace , built in the twentieth century neoclassical style.
Archbishop's Palace, 1924.
Lima Cathedral.
We left the Plaza de Armas to take Superunda County Street to get on the right, the temple of the Dominican Order: SANTO DOMINGO (2) , unmistakable because of the pink color of the facade and tower bell. Holds the remains of San Martín de Porres and Santa Rosa de Lima. The cloister is a English original: archery is great on the second floor of the cloister, made of wood. The cloister (as almost all of the city) has a wonderful garden that has nothing to do with the Europeans. The guard tower overlooking camapanario it. In the chapter house roof is composed of an admirable wood coffered ceiling cedar Nicaragua. Also is a jewel of the collection of XVII century tiles from Sevilla. To my taste prticular is the best church in the city, next to the Merced.
Note the top floor and wooden arches.
ceiling coffered ceiling of the Chapter. The camera on my mobile (cellular American speech) did not quite measure up, because the camera ran out of battery.
side of Santo Domingo home.
On the street Cailloma up, turn left on the Jiron Ica, and arrived at the convent of St. Augustine (3) , red facade. It's a shame because it was badly damaged as a result of a cannon in some skirmishes have occurred in the city between different political party in the late nineteenth century. The cover is an example of the richly decorated Baroque Lima (and Latin America in general), comparable to churrigueresco English.
St. Augustine home. 
We go back to Ica and, after crossing Cailloma, turn (turning, to say the Lima) left on the scrap of Rufino Torrico and came to the small and intimate decoradísima church of San Marcelo (4) . Simple, yet balanced, with a facade decorated with great profusion. Emphasizes the smallness of the two bell towers. 
BY THE UNION JIRON 
Detail of the cover, decorated in excess, a quality so characteristic of the Baroque in general and Latin America in particular.
Stop the 
Cloister of San Pedro.
And to end this introductory tour of the old Lima, followed by Azángaro Street, which leads us directly, after crossing four blocks: Ucayali, Huallaga, Junín and Ancash, the temple of the order Franciscan: the CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO (7) , more commonly known as "catacombs " by the amount of bone humans in their basement, because until the nineteenth century was a cemetery. I particularly like, but I disappoint my expectations. This was coupled with the terrible guide that explained that in addition to having little idea, I had a bad temper. It is interesting to your library. On the cover, to your left, looking from the front façade decorated, has attached the chapel of Solitude, but inside is ruined. Leaving
San Francisco or the Catacombs. 
ceiling coffered ceiling of the Chapter. The camera on my mobile (cellular American speech) did not quite measure up, because the camera ran out of battery.
side of Santo Domingo home.
On the street Cailloma up, turn left on the Jiron Ica, and arrived at the convent of St. Augustine (3) , red facade. It's a shame because it was badly damaged as a result of a cannon in some skirmishes have occurred in the city between different political party in the late nineteenth century. The cover is an example of the richly decorated Baroque Lima (and Latin America in general), comparable to churrigueresco English.
St. Augustine home.
We go back to Ica and, after crossing Cailloma, turn (turning, to say the Lima) left on the scrap of Rufino Torrico and came to the small and intimate decoradísima church of San Marcelo (4) . Simple, yet balanced, with a facade decorated with great profusion. Emphasizes the smallness of the two bell towers.
San Marcelo. Crappy picture to make it at night.
BY THE UNION JIRON
After leaving San Marcelo take Emancipation Street SE or Abancay address. Is a wide street that crosses those of Torrico, Cailloma and Camana to reach concurridísimo Jiron de la Union, the true social and commercial center of the heart central city of Lima. We at Union Square and arrived at the jewel of the city, a temple well-studied in textbooks of art: IGLESIA DE LA MERCED (5) . Its facade and interior are the best example of Baroque recargadísimo Latin America. Also inside is an example of the "horror vacui" by which all space should be decorated without exception. It was the first temple I visited in this Easter 2009 and it is a must in my subsequent journeys Lima. I was impressed by some of the panels without gold leaf, wood carved cedar excellent Nicaragua. The Magpie father hood is already very familiar to me.
Templo de la Merced, in the street of Jiron de la Union.
Detail of the cover, decorated in excess, a quality so characteristic of the Baroque in general and Latin America in particular.
Stop the
already reached the final stretch of the walk through the temples of Lima. I wandered the temples of the main religious orders of the viceroyalty: Dominicans, Augustinians, Mercy, and now we are to see the Jesuit and Franciscan churches, they could not miss, especially the Jesuits, as implemented in Latin America with evangelizing missions and their reductions in the jungle with the natives who were able to convert.
For Miró Quesada, leaving the side door of the transept of the Merced, cross Carabaya, Lampa and we Azángaro Street, to spin-flip to the left, to run into SAN PEDRO (6) , temple of the Company. Draws attention to the little yellow facade decoration. The other temples of the company I know in America are those of Cuzco, Arequipa and that of Ecuador in Quito, hyper abundant examples of decoration. But inside (it's a shame that you can not take pictures in the interiors of the churches in general) is decorated similar to other temples Ignatian. Effigies typical San Francisco de Borja and San Ignacio de Loyola highlighted inside.
The church of San Pedro, the temple of the Jesuits.
Cloister of San Pedro.
And to end this introductory tour of the old Lima, followed by Azángaro Street, which leads us directly, after crossing four blocks: Ucayali, Huallaga, Junín and Ancash, the temple of the order Franciscan: the CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO (7) , more commonly known as "catacombs " by the amount of bone humans in their basement, because until the nineteenth century was a cemetery. I particularly like, but I disappoint my expectations. This was coupled with the terrible guide that explained that in addition to having little idea, I had a bad temper. It is interesting to your library. On the cover, to your left, looking from the front façade decorated, has attached the chapel of Solitude, but inside is ruined. Leaving
, and Ancash Street, we reach the old station Homeless, we turn to the left by the Carabaya shred and return to the starting point of the walk: Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor, the end point now of our visit temples paraded olos Lima. We left three temples in this room: the Trinidad , Jesus and Mary and Sacred Heart of Jesus . The time I missed, the camera battery was low and I visited one of the three but I do not remember his name because, after so much walking just one and so saturated with architectural beauty and more for a foreign tourist like me. I hope to be understood by the reader.
In another entry, the second, try to approach the houses of the city and in a third, the other buildings and if possible, any extension beyond this square.
San Francisco or the Catacombs.
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