The Historic Centre of Lima (Spanish: Centro histórico de Lima) is the old city center of Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in the districts of Lima and Rímac, both in the Rímac Valley. The area has two parts: the first is the Monumental Zone, created by the Peruvian government in 1972. The second part, which is inside the first, is the World Heritage Site, established by UNESCO in 1988. Buildings in this area have a black-and-white shield from the organization.
Lima was founded on January 18, 1535, by Conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The city was the political, administrative, religious, and economic center of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which was the most important city in Spanish South America. Efforts to spread Christianity in the late 16th century led to the arrival of religious groups and the building of churches and convents. The University of San Marcos, known as the "Dean University of the Americas," was founded on May 12, 1551, and began its work on January 2, 1553, in the Convent of Santo Domingo.
Originally surrounded by city walls that no longer exist, the Cercado de Lima has many buildings that survived serious damage from earthquakes over the years, such as the Convent of San Francisco, the largest of its kind in this region. Many of the buildings were created by artisans, local artists, architects, and master builders from Europe. The area is one of the most important tourist places in Peru.
History
The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded by Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, and was named "City of the Kings." However, over time, its original name remained in use. This name may have come from either the Aymara language word "lima-limaq," which means "yellow flower," or from the Spanish pronunciation of the Quechuan word "rimaq," meaning "talker." In nearby Quechua I languages, the word is written and pronounced as "limaq." It is important to note that the same Quechuan word is also the source of the name of the Rímac River, which flows through the city. Early maps of Peru show both names used together.
Under the Viceroyalty of Peru, the viceroy, who acted as a representative of the Spanish monarchy, held significant authority. This role was a major step in the colonial administration. When new viceroys arrived in Lima, their entrances were celebrated with great ceremony. For these events, silver bars were placed on the streets from the city gates to the Palace of the Viceroy.
The city, which was once surrounded by walls, had streets with individual names until 1862. At that time, the city adopted a naming plan proposed by Mariano Bolognesi, an idea first suggested by Manuel Atanasio Fuentes in 1857. South of the Rímac River, a street later called Union Street became a central axis for other roads. Streets intersecting with it were renamed based on their location east or west of the axis and were called "jirón" instead of "calle." Streets parallel to the Rímac River were named after Peru’s departments, while those perpendicular to it were named after provinces. However, this rule was not always followed, as some streets took names from rivers or important people.
On December 28, 1972, the Peruvian government declared the historic districts of Lima and Rímac as Monumental Zones, part of Peru’s cultural heritage, through Supreme Decree No. 2900-72-ED. This designation was expanded on April 26, 1989, by another decree (R.J. No. 191-69-INC). In 1994, the Monumental Zones of Lima and Rímac were combined into one area under Ordinance No. 062-94-MML, which established policies for the city’s historic center. In 1998, the first Master Plan for the city was created and used until 2010.
During the 1980s, a local textile company called Barrington helped place custom street signs in Lima’s historic center. These signs included traditional street names and short descriptions. They replaced yellow plaques from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some of which were recovered in 2018 during restoration work by the government agency PROLIMA. In 2021, new yellow plaques were added to celebrate Peru’s bicentennial of independence. These plaques included former street names, descriptions, steel signs with block numbers, and informative totem signs.
In 1988, UNESCO recognized Lima’s historic center as a World Heritage Site because of its unique collection of historic buildings from the colonial era. The site’s boundaries were changed in 1991. In 2023, the area was expanded to include two additional areas: the Quinta and Molino de Presa and the Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of Cercado.
Starting in 2010, a Peruvian real estate company called Arte Express owned several buildings in the historic center. These buildings were restored until the company closed in 2022. In 2021, as part of preparations for the bicentennial celebrations, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima placed 206 QR codes at landmarks in the center. When scanned, these codes show videos explaining the history of the buildings.
On January 18, 2024, the city celebrated its 489th anniversary. President Dina Boluarte announced a "special regime" to support restoration work in the area. On January 17, 2025, city officials restarted the "Lima, Ciudad de los Reyes" program, which aims to promote the restoration of the city’s cultural heritage sites.
List of sites
The World Heritage Site is divided into three zones and includes several important landmarks.
The main zone is the Historic Centre of Lima, which covers 266.17 hectares. It also has a buffer zone of 806.71 hectares. This area includes the following:
The Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of Cercado, covering 10.2 hectares, was added to the World Heritage Site in 2023.
The Quinta and Molino de Presa, covering 1.62 hectares, were also added to the World Heritage Site in 2023.