In the Rimac district of Lima you will find a park close to the presidential palace this park is known as Parque de la Muralla (Park of the Wall) what is interesting about this park is that you will see the remains of walls that were constructed in 1684 and finished in 1687 by Viceroy Melchor de Navarra to prevent the city being attacked by pirates or would-be attackers however, the walls were torn down under the presidency of Jose Balta in 1872 under news expansion plans of the city.
Also in this park hidden away in the corner you will see a statue of Francisco Pizarro, this was never originally place here but was near the presidential Palace and Cathedral in the main square (Plaza de Armas) so, Why did it move? Well ... Pizarro was the Spanish conquistador who lead the invasion into Peru in 1530 but due to his cruel and heavy hand in the country many question the validity of him being praised and due to lobbying especially by one an architecture professor named Santiago Agurto Calvo had it removed in 2003, it moved twice before being officially placed in the Park of the Wall. I wish to add something else to this history:
The statues were made in the 1930’s by Ramsey MacDonald and I say statues because three were made. Ramsey made the statues not as a representation to Pizarro but to an anonymous European foot soldier and some back up this claim because the sword, horse and helmet are historically inaccurate. So where are the statues? Well the one in Peru was never really destined for Peru but was given to Mexico to represent Hernan Cortes (Conqueror of Mexico - 1518) however, they rejected it and it was sent to Peru, the second one is in Wisconsin and the other although created by Charles Rumsey resides in Plaza Mayor in Trujillo, the hometown of Pizarro.
This park is great for all kinds of people, history lovers to people who just wish to take a stroll and being located in the centre you will never be too far from other tourist attractions, also It has a really nice restaurant and a museum inside in which you can read more about Lima's history, It's open from Monday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and it only cost S/. 1.00 Nuevo sol the vist. So don't miss it, if you're in Lima downtown this has to be one of your destinations!
Once again, the history of Lima never stops amazing me! ... There's a lot to learn in every corner.
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