The Alameda de los Descalzos is an

alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

located in

Rímac District Rímac (pronunciation: ), known until the 19th century as the neighbourhood of San Lázaro, is a district in the Lima Province, Peru. It lies directly to the north of downtown Lima, to which it is connected by six bridges over the Rímac River. ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. One of the best-known places in the district, around it stand—among other buildings—the churches of Santa Liberata, El Patrocinio and Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. Nearby is also the place where

Micaela Villegas Maria Micaela Villegas Hurtado (28 September 1748 – 16 May 1819), known as ''La Perricholi'', was a Peruvian entertainer and mistress of Manuel de Amat y Junyent, Viceroy of Peru from 1761 to 1776. Their son, Manuel de Amat y Villegas, was ...

's Mill House was located. It measures about 450 m.

History

It was initially called Alameda Grande. Ordered to be laid out by

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Juan de Mendoza y Luna Juan de Mendoza y Luna, 3rd Marquess of Montesclaros (January, 1571 – October 9, 1628) was a Spanish nobleman, man of letters, and the tenth viceroy of New Spain. He governed from October 27, 1603 to July 2, 1607. Thereafter he was viceroy ...

in 1611 in the likeness of the

Alameda de Hércules The Alameda de Hércules (Hercules mall), or simply La Alameda, is a garden square or mall in Seville, southern Spain. Built in 1574, it was originally a promenaded public garden, named after the eight rows of white poplar trees (''álamos'' in S ...

in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

city of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, a public garden created in 1574 and the oldest in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The Sevillian model was followed by other creators of urban gardens in Spain such as that of

Écija Écija () is a city and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is in the countryside, 85 km east of the city of Seville. According to the 2008 census, Écija had a total popula ...

province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...

, or that of

Alameda Central Alameda Central is a public urban park in downtown Mexico City. Established in 1592, Alameda Central is the oldest public park in the Americas. Located in Cuauhtémoc borough between Juárez Avenue and Hidalgo Avenue, the park is adjacent to t ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The Alameda de los Descalzos de Lima was rebuilt in 1770 by Viceroy Manuel Amat y Juniet. It is located at the end of Alcázar Avenue, approximately 900 meters north of the Plaza Mayor. Lima's

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

collects stories that furtive encounters between forbidden lovers took place in this place, where the girls of the time, accompanied on their walks by chaperones, brushed against their suitors without even looking at them. It is the cradle of well-known stories about secrets, mischievous smiles and the graceful walk of the coquetry of the famous '' tapadas limeñas'' in their eager and seductive walks of gentlemen in love. It is also a witness to romantic stories and memories, the most famous of which is the romance between Viceroy Amat and the Perricholi, who were the talk of the demure society ladies of the time. It is also said that, at night,

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s of

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

s, and people who died in the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

or mysterious congregations of ghosts parade around the alameda. According to the chroniclers of the Viceroyalty, its original design consisted of three streets: two lateral ones for

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

s and a central one for

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

s. There were three

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

s, donated by citizen , and eight rows of trees that offered walkers shade and coolness. The definitive remodeling that it underwent in the 19th century turned it into a romantic walk. In 1856, President

Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest p ...

gave it a new and definitive unitary outline by ordering the placement of a wrought iron fence imported from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, giving it the romanticist touch of the early 18th century. It currently has side bars, one hundred lined

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

benches, twelve

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...

statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture ...

that represent the

signs of the zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac be ...

and the

months of the year A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar m ...

, as well as 50 ornamental wrought iron vases by artisans of the time. The

Municipality of Lima The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima () is the local government entity of the Lima Province and Lima District. It is the only provincial municipality of special regime with faculties of regional government. It is established according to the 20 ...

carried out renovation works between 2014 and 2015.

Statues

The sculptures of the ''alameda'' have as their theme the zodiacal signs and some

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

from

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. In 2018 these were declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation as part of the set of 91 monumental sculptures located in the

Historic Centre of Lima The Historic Centre of Lima () is the historic city centre of the city of Lima, the capital of Peru. Located in the city's districts of Lima and Rímac, both in the Rímac Valley, it consists of two areas: the first is the Monumental Zone est ...

References

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History

Statues

See also

References