Lima history

Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro the Conquistador who seized the land of the Incas for Spain in 1535. As the centre of a Spanish viceroyalty that spanned Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, Lima was the most important South American capital until the 19th century.

A great deal of Andean silver passed through Lima en route to Spain, and some of it funded the colonial mansions and baroque churches whose altars still gleam with the rich metal.