Piura is a city in northwestern

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 ...

, located north of the

Sechura Desert The Sechura Desert is a coastal desert located south of the Piura Region of Peru along the Pacific coast and inland to the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Its extreme aridity is caused by the upwelling of cold coastal waters and subtropical a ...

along the Piura River. It is the capital of the

Piura Region Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It i ...

and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017 and it is the 7th most populous city in Peru. The city is located in the central eastern part of the Piura Region, 981 kilometers from the country's capital,

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 ...

and is near to the border with

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. It was here that Spanish Conqueror

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

founded the third Spanish city in South America and first in Peru, under the name of ''San Miguel de Piura'', in JulyHemming, J., 1970, The Conquest of the Incas, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., or August of 1532. Piura declared its independence from Spain on 4 January 1821, a few months before Peru gained its independence on 28 July 1821. It is the commercial and administrative center of the

Department of Piura Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It i ...

Symbols

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Piura was created by the Spanish Crown on December 7, 1537, through the Royal Decree signed in Valladolid by

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. It is used to identify both the city of Piura, as well as the district and province of the same name.

Anthem

The Piura anthem was composed in 1932 by Enrique del Carmen Ramos Briceño, at the request of the Colegio Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Professor San Carlos was in charge of composing the music.

History

Pre-columbian era

Like most of northern Peru, the territory of Piura has been inhabited by their autochthonous group of natives called '' tallanes'' and ''

yungas The Yungas ( Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends i ...

''. These groups lived without an organization or single leader to rule until the Muchik culture eventually took control, and the mixture of these evolved into the Vicús culture. The

Chimor Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca Empire, Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui aro ...

, Moche and Wari Empire used to occupy the area surrounding the city. Centuries later, Piura came under the rule of Tupac Inca Yupanqui of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

for at least 40 years before the Spanish arrived.

Colonial era

Francisco Pizarro came to the area and established it as the third Spanish city in South America, and Spain's first city in Peru, known as San Miguel de Tangarará. He originally went all the way to what is now Tumbes but decided it was not a suitable base for his operations. With the arrival of the Spanish in 1532, the current mestizo and creole cultures of Piura were born. This

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

culture includes influences from Spanish

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

and

Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...

; African influence, owing to the arrival of slaves from Madagascar ( Malgache slaves); Chinese

coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...

s who migrated from Canton to work the rice fields and replace the slaves; and also Roma Gypsies who came as pirates looking for

pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

, or incognito as Spanish horsemen. Piura celebrates its founding every 15 of August. The Spanish named the city from the Quechuan word , meaning 'abundance'. Nowadays, Piura is known as the , 'the city of eternal heat', because it is hot all year round.

Independence

In 1820, with the incursions of Admirals Guillermo Brown and Cochrane of the liberating expedition of

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

, the Piuran population enthusiastically joined the liberating cause, and on January 4, 1821, the independence of Piura was proclaimed in the atrium of the temple of San Francisco. The proclamation was an feat led by the heroes José de Lama, Tomás Cortés, Baltazar Taboada, Tomás Diéguez, the Seminario brothers and others. Likewise, the Piura division of 1,000 men contributed victoriously to the independence of Quito, taking part in the Battle of Pichincha, on May 24, 1822.

Republican era

In 1861, the

was created and Piura became the departments capital. The department consisted other three provinces at the time, Piura,

Paita Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in the region. Paita is located 1,089 km northwest of the country's capital Lima, and 57 km northwest of ...

and Ayabaca. In the 1860s, the city of Piura became more dynamic with the cultivation of Pima cotton, brought by Don Emilio Hilbck from the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which promoted the industrialization and development of the city and the region, and strong immigration. of English, German and Spanish, in that order, and to a lesser extent Italians and Chinese, who brought their customs and also their knowledge of commerce and industry. Many Americans also arrived. They quickly incorporated themselves into the social fabric, forming families with local ladies and inevitably creating new tastes and habits. Even Piura's cuisine was enriched. In agriculture, the use of the steam pump and specialized machinery was introduced, allowing more cropland to be irrigated, expanding the network of canals since the success of Piuran cotton in the international market was a great stimulus for agriculture. New industries appeared such as deep-sea fishing by whaling fleets, mass production and export trade of toquilla straw hats from Catacaos and annexes. Peruvian war hero of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Miguel Grau Seminario Miguel María Grau Seminario (27 July 1834 – 8 October 1879) was a Peruvian Navy officer and politician best known for his actions during the War of the Pacific. He was nicknamed "Gentleman of the Seas" for his kind and chivalrous treatment ...

was born in Piura on July 27, 1834. He became a hero during the naval

Battle of Angamos The Battle of Angamos () was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October 1879. The battle was the culminating point of a naval campaign that lasted about five months i ...

. According to historians and the Peruvian state, since 2011, they have given the official birthplace of Grau not to Piura but to the port of Paita. Miguel Grau is the most renowned and iconic Peruvian naval officer, being known as ''el Caballero de los Mares'' (Spanish for "Gentleman of the Seas"). Piura desde el aire

In the 1980s, Piura and the department again experienced an ascending and thriving commercial, industrial and socioeconomic development, despite having been devastated in the 1983 disaster, as a consequence of the El Niño phenomenon, manifested in torrential rains for six months. that affected its industry, commerce and its urban infrastructure. The El Niño phenomenon that occurred from late 1997 to mid-1998 found the city better prepared, although two of its bridges fell and were subsequently replaced. When it seemed that it was going to be a dry season, in February 2017 it began to rain heavily in what later became known as the coastal Niño phenomenon, and in the early hours of March 27, the river overflowed over the center and northern areas. of the city, causing unforeseen damage, affecting health networks and communication routes.

Present

Piura is experiencing strong development of its commercial sector with the installation of large shopping centers and department stores in no less than five points of the city considered strategic by investors. Furthermore, in recent years the city has expanded considerably with the creation of new developments and human settlements. Likewise, its industrial sector was also developed with the inauguration of the "Piura Futura" industrial estate, northwest of Piura.

Geography

Location

Piura is located in the central-eastern part of the

, in the valley of the Piura River, north of the

. It is located at a medium-low altitude and at a distance of 858 km north of

. Its proximity to the border with Ecuador and its location in a transit zone between the coast and the mountains give it a strategic geographical position. Piura is the main nucleus of the urban agglomeration known as the Piura metropolitan area.

Climate

The Piura Department has a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

and semi-desert climate on the coast and the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, whereas on the eastern slopes the climate is

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

. Precipitation is sparse except during

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

events, when rainfall is abundant and water flows through normally dry watercourses, causing flooding and large-scale land movements.

Hydrography

The hydrography of Piura Department is determined mainly by the amount of rainfall originating in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. This rainfall is itself determined by the meeting of two ocean currents on the southern coast of the department, around the bay of Sechura: the cold

Humboldt current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

at , and the warm

at . These conditions lead to fluctuations in offshore sea temperatures, which are in winter and spring, and in summer and sometimes in autumn. The mean annual

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

is 66%. The mean

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013. ...

is 1008.5 hPa, while winds are mainly from the north at an average speed of . Annual rainfall varies between at altitudes of ; between at altitudes of ; and averages at altitudes above . Most of the region is arid, with rainfall concentrated in the high Andean areas, while on the wide plains the main water sources are seasonal rivers flowing from the north: the Chira and the Piura. The southern half of the plain consists of the

, which supports herbaceous vegetation. The main rivers are the Piura, the Huancabamba and the Chira. The reservoir of Poechos has been created within the course of the Chira. It has a capacity of and irrigates large portions of the coastal region. The river Quiroz, a tributary of the Piura, supplies the huge artificial lake of San Lorenzo. On the Huancabamba, in the mountains, there is a hydroelectric power station supplying energy to the region.

Demographics

Piura is the 7th most populous city in Peru, after

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Huancayo and

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province, Peru, Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the List of cities in Peru, ninth-most populous city in Peru ...

. The city has an estimated population of 630,244 according to the census carried out by the

Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) ("National Institute of Statistics and Informatics") is a semi-autonomous Peruvian government agency which coordinates, compiles, and evaluates statistical information for the country. ...

in 2020. The Metropolitan area of Piura is made up of the urban centers of the districts of Piura, Veintisirse de Octubre, Castilla and Catacaos, with the city of Piura being the main urban nucleus, in accordance with the "Urban Development Plan of the districts of Piura, Twenty-sixth of October, Castilla and Catacaos in 2032".

Education

Universities

The city of Piura has a considerable offer in terms of university vocational training centers; The following universities and a recognized Professional Technical School for business training operate there: * University of Piura (UDEP) * National University of Piura (UNP) Branches of: * Peruvian Wings University (UAP) * César Vallejo University (UCV) * The Angels of Chimbote University (ULADECH) * Antenor Orrego Private University (UPAO) * Saint Peter University (USP)

Tourism

Piura is known as "the city of eternal heat", its Plaza de Armas is one of the oldest and most beautiful in the country, with s a square Spanish cut. The Piura Cathedral was built in the viceregal era and preserves its altarpieces and is surrounded by tamarind, ficus, crotos, cucardas, poncianas and papelillos. It is crisscrossed by wide avenues that make it functional. Apart from the market complex, it has several shopping centers, the best known are the Open Plaza, Plaza del Sol, Real Plaza and Plaza de la Luna, as well as modern urbanizations, condominiums in exclusive areas and recreational fields such as country restaurants, soccer fields, tennis, etc. Piura is one of the top tourist destinations in Peru. One of the best-known tourist attractions in Piura is La Esmeralda beach, known as Colan beach for it is located near the town of Colan. It is a very long beach with warm waters. Local people like to go there during holidays. The airport of the city of Piura, located in the district of Castilla, is the fourth most important destination in the country due to the influx of flights and passengers. Beaches such as Playa Cangrejos, Mancora Beach and Cabo Blanco. Cabo Blanco was made famous by visitor

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

in 1956, where he supervised the filming of ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a 1952 novella by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiag ...

''.

Culture and folklore

Art

Piura has an intense cultural and artistic life. It has several museums of religious art, including the Church of Carmen, of pre-Columbian ceramics, particularly of the Vicús civilization, as well as galleries of paintings of its illustrious characters such as Ignacio Merino, Luis Montero, Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Arcadio Boyer Ramírez, and contemporary painters such as Francisco Mauricio, Russbelt Guerra, Julio Cálle, José Zeta, Marcial Farfan, among others. The Ignacio Merino Muñoz Regional School of Fine Arts, the José María Valle Riestra Regional School of Music and the Children's Symphony Orchestra of Piura OSIP (Camerata Académica de Piura) are hotbeds of a plethora of young artists. The Municipal Symphony Orchestra is supported by the Provincial Council of Piura, businessmen and the Piura public that attends each of its presentations. Institutions such as the Regional Association of Plastic Artists of Piura ARAP and the Felipe Cossío del Pomar Association also keep art alive. Popular crafts from Piura include Chulucana pottery, and Catacaos is famous for its hats and its silversmithing. The small town of Simbila, is very popular for its handcrafts and pottery.

Cuisine

Piura is host to a stunning mestizo culture (one of the oldest in South America, for Piura is the third Spanish city founded on that continent) most famous for gastronomical dishes like Seco de chabelo, algarrobina-based drinks, many types of seafood and fish, like ceviche and ''Natilla Sweets''. Ceviche de Caballa is an iconic dish from Piura, served with

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

. Piurano chifles are also a very iconic food.

Music and dance

The tondero and cumanana are the traditional music of mestizo Piura and northern parts of Lambayeque and Peru. Tondero, a typical dance of Piura, originated in the valley of Alto Piura in the province of Morropón during the 18th and 19th century, in which many mansions were constructed. There are also several famous

Peruvian Waltz The vals criollo (), or Peruvian waltz (), is an adaptation of the European waltz brought to the Americas during colonial times by Spain. In the Viceroyalty of Peru, the waltz was gradually adapted to the likings of the Criollo people. In the ...

that came from these regions (northern Peruvians have their own style).

Sport

The most popular sport in Piura is

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer). The cities largest football club is

Atlético Grau Club Atlético Grau, more commonly known as Atlético Grau or simply, Grau, is a Peruvian professional football club based in the city of Piura. The club was founded in 1919 and currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División, the top tier of P ...

, which participates in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

. Other football clubs in Piura include Sport Escudero, and Sport Liberal, both participating in the

Copa Perú The Copa Perú is a association football, football tournament in Peru and the fourth-highest division of the Peruvian football league system. Despite its name, it is not entirely an elimination-cup competition involving all Peruvian clubs, but ra ...

. Piura was one of the host cities for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, where its stadium, Estadio Miguel Grau, hosted. The stadium is named after the Peruvian war hero,

and has a capacity of 25,500. The stadium recently was approved for a renovation, after years of being left abandoned. Other popular sports in the city are athletics, volleyball and surfing. Indoor sports such as handball, basketball and futsal are also very popular in the city.

Churches and religion

The most practiced religion in Piura is

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Piura is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Piura, which was established 1940. It is based in the Catedral de San Miguel Arcángel, also known as the Piura Cathedral or Catedral de Piura. Naturalized Peruvian citizen Robert Francis Prevost, elected as

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

2025, was Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, part of the Archdiocese of Piura. The city is home is many churches, with the most iconic being: * Piura Cathedral, founded in 1588, located in the Plena Plaza de Armas * Iglesia San Francisco, founded by the Franciscan Order * Iglesia San Sebastian, founded in 1911 * Iglesia María Auxiliadora * La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Últimos Días

Transportation

Road

The

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

goes right through Piura and connects it to other cities in Peru and South America. Mototaxi's are a common form of transportation in the city, offering taxi or business's services. There are several public transport routes in the city, mainly made up of buses, minibuses and combis. In turn, you can find many taxis, motorcycle taxis and colectivos scattered throughout the city. Currently, the works of the new project of a rapid transit bus system called "Metropolitan Corridor of Piura" which would cross the city from east to west, contemplating a route of more than 14 km along the axis composed of Sánchez Cerro and Guardia Civil avenues, are in the execution project.The project is being promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Provincial Municipality of Piura, with the support of German and French Cooperation.

Air

Piura is served by the Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport, which only has one direct destination to Lima's

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, northwest of the Historic Centre of Lima, the nation's capital city, and from the Miraflores District, Lima, dis ...

and is served by three airlines, LATAM Airlines Perú, Sky Airline Peru and JetSmart Perú. The

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

Air Group Nº 7 is headquartered in Piura. The Air Squadron 711 "Scorpions" are stationed at the airport, operating Cessna A-37 Dragonfly's.

Rail

The city served a rail route to the nearby cities of Sullana and

since 1910, but has not served any more passengers, only providing occasional cargo. A project known as the Tren de la Costa is planned. The project aims to serve all cities along the Peruvian coast from Ica to Sullana. The railway would go through Piura, connecting the city with many others.

Notable people

* Francisco del Castillo Andraca (1716–1770), Peruvian poet, writer and priest *

(1834-1879), Peruvian naval officer and war hero of the

Sister cities

* Empalme, Mexico * Loja, Ecuador *

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, United States * Trujillo, Spain

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Populated places in the Department of Piura Cities in Peru Populated places established in 1532 1532 establishments in the Spanish Empire Regional capital cities in Peru