The Dos de Mayo Square (), known as the ''Óvalo de la Reina'' until 1866, is a public square located in

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. Located on the southwestern edge of the historic centre's bufferzone, it serves as the junction of several important avenues, including

Alfonso Ugarte Alfonso Ugarte (July 13, 1847 – June 7, 1880) was a Peruvian civilian turned military commander during the War of the Pacific, between Peru and Bolivia against Chile. He held the rank of colonel. Early life Ugarte was born in Tarapacá Prov ...

, La Colmena and Colonial avenues. In the late 20th century, a vehicular tunnel was built under the square to curb traffic congestions.

History

The square was inaugurated in 1799 by Viceroy

Ambrosio O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins f ...

, as the Oval of the Queen (). The name remained until 1866, when President

Mariano Ignacio Prado Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa (18 December 1825 – 5 May 1901) was a Peruvian army general who served as the 17th (1865 - 1868) and 21st (1876 - 1879) President of Peru. Biography Born in Huánuco on 18 December 1825, he studied in Huánuco and ...

announced that the area—then located near the

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

that faced

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

—would instead house a square to commemorate the

battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish Empire, Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Cal ...

which took place the day prior, on May 2 (), during the Spanish–South American War. With the walls now demolished, the square's construction began on May 13, 1873, and was inaugurated by Prado on July 28, 1874. The square is dominated by a central monument, built in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and reassembled in Peru between 1873 and 1874. The architect was Edmond Guillaume, while the sculptor of the finial figure of

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and the historical and allegorical bronzes was Louis-Léon Cugnot. The square's eight French-inspired adjacent buildings were built in 1924, under the second government of

Augusto B. Leguía Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (19 February 1863 – 6 February 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the " Oncenio" after its eleven-year length. ...

, designed by

Claude Sahut Claude Sahut (Montpellier; — ) was a French architect. Many of his works took place in the Peruvian city of Lima, including state-owned buildings, such as the Government Palace. Biography Sahut studied at the ''École des Beaux-Arts'' in Pari ...

and subsequently modified by

Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski Ryszard Jaxa-Małachowski Kulisicz (Odessa, — Lima, ), later known as Ricardo de Jaxa Małachowski, was a Polish-Peruvian architect, active in Peru for nearly all of his professional career. He was one of the major architects of the capital ci ...

. Their concept and construction efforts were the work of

Víctor Larco Herrera Victor Larco Herrera (1870 in Trujillo, Peru, Trujillo, Peru – May 10, 1939 in Santiago de Chile) was a prominent politician, farmer and philanthropist from Peru. He devoted much of his life to social and cultural affairs. Since 1945, the ...

. Restoration works, which took place under the supervision of PROLIMA, concluded with an official ceremony attended by deputy mayor

Renzo Reggiardo Renzo Andrés Reggiardo Barreto (born 1 July 1972) is a Peruvian politician from Popular Renewal, businessman and a former Congress of the Republic of Peru, Congressman representing the constituency of Lima for two terms, between 2006 and 2016. ...

on June 11, 2024. The works were based on the appearance the square had in 1928, and also targeted the monument, who had suffered the theft of over 250 pieces.

Pedestrian crossings A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American and Canadian English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or Avenue (landscape), avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna Convention on Road Sign ...

to connect the square with the

Paseo Colón 9 December Avenue (), commonly known as Paseo Colón, is an avenue in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The street is named after the statue of Christopher Columbus located in the avenue. History The place where the Paseo Colón extends today c ...

and Jirón Paraguay were also announced.

References

Dos DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

Lima District {{Peru-struct-stub

History

See also

References