Get to know the most bohemian corner of the center of Lima
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peru.travel

Friday, July 24, 2020

If you have already visited the Plaza Mayor in Lima, all you have to do is take a walk through the traditional Jirón de la Unión to the extreme south, at the intersection with Nicolás de Piérola Avenue, where the Plaza San Martín is located.

 

Officially inaugurated on July 27, 1921, its modernist line and ornamentation are the work of the architect Manuel Piqueras. Its portals full of arches and its historic buildings stand out. On the southeast side is the former Metro cinema and the South America building, inaugurated between 1935 and 1945. While, in the front, rises the mythical Colón Theater, built before the plaza itself, in 1914.

 

The mythical Teatro Colón. Built before the plaza itself, in 1914. Credit: Carlos Ibarra / PromPeru.

 

In the center, a monument raises in honor of the liberator of Peru, General José de San Martín. This work, sculpted by the Spanish artist Mariano Benlliure, is at the same time, an allegory of the Peruvian shield: the white pedestal is adorned by three sculptures. The main one is the Homeland, who holds branches of the Quina tree in its hands; on its head carries a helmet with two cornucopias and a figure of a llama can be seen.

 

Witness to rallies and protest marches, today, the Plaza San Martín welcomes bohemian poets and intellectuals who gather to talk in the bars and restaurants that surround this historic point of the city.

 

 

There is no doubt that this is where the true heart of Lima beats.

 

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