The first traces of humans in the department of Lima were found in Ancon, 50 kilometers north of the city, the age of which having been determined to be 10,000 years. These first "Limeños" (residents of Lima) were hunters and collectors, and they lived in nearby hilly regions, like the Lomas de Lachay or Lucumo, which were filled with abundant resources. Four thousand years later, humans began to build settlements in the hills,...

The founding of cities in Peru was the act that truly solidified Spanish occupation of that conquered territory. Nonetheless, as laid out in Spanish law of the time, urban planning in regions annexed by the king had to follow the style imposed by him. Part of that included a design those of us from Lima know so well: the famous checkerboard pattern of streets, starting with the main square at the center of town.

Around the main...

Sunny by the hills and wet by the ocean... Immortal words of the great Peruvian singer/songwriter Chabuca Granda as she sung about Lima, a city of traditions no matter where you cast your eyes. Between the creation of the ultra sweet turron de Doña Pepa and a student buying a portion of zanguito (another Peruvian dessert) at the entrance of his school live hundreds of years of stories whose protagonists are beloved mothers, saints...

Lima is a city filled with people who are crazy about food. It is the kingdom of the after work "sanguchito" (sandwich), of the cebiche at noon in summertime, of the Sunday morning pick-me-up-after-a-night-onthe- town sancochado (hearty vegetable beef soup), of the deep fried pork sandwich breakfast eaten with the family, of the enormous tacu tacu (refried beans and rice) and cau cau (tripe), of the tamale your purchase at the bakery...

Despite the few referents there are to the Virgin Mary in the NEW TESTAMENT, the Council of Ephesus in 43 I A.D. gave its official blessing to the cult of the Virgin as the Mother and Mystical Spouse of God. It was to turn the Virgin into one of the favorite inspiration of Christian art. Few figures in Christian artistry can boast such a rich and varied iconography. From the Middle...

In the early 1980s, a boom in adventure sports got underway in Peru. Today, the rapidly-growing ranks of sportsmen, with the excuse of drumming up additional adrenaline flow, chose to practice a variety of sports with one common denominator: risk. These guys are always on the edge, whether they're kayaking down a raging river,...

It was baptized as the City of Kings on January 15, 1535, but it was more a seat of viceroys, nobles and down-on-their-luck aristocrats, who arrived in this land attracted by news of the inexhaustible gold of the Incas. Emulating the opulence and splendor of the Spanish courts, they made the ancient capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru into the center of Hispanic influence in South America.

But Lima does not stick to formality; it...