LIMA, Peru, South American city, capital of the department of Lima, on the Rimac River, seven miles from the Pacific. Callao, on the Pacific, at the mouth of the Rimac, is the port of Lima; it is connected with Lima by two railroads, one on each side of the Rimac. Another railroad extends from Lima to Con cepcion, a town on the eastern slope of the Andes. This railroad • is in one place 15,000 feet above the sea. The city was founded by Francisco Pizarro, 1535, and named Ciudad de los Reyes, "City of the Kings,) because the site was chosen on 6 January, the feast of the "Wise Men,'" or the "Three Kings." It is about 500 feet above sea-level. The climate is un healthful and dense fogs are prevalent. The city is in form, and its streets are straight if narrow. Lima contains several promenades adorned with ornamental plants and statues and several notable plazas. The principal of these are the Plaza de Bolivar. the Plaza Mayo, and the Plaza del Acho with its bull ring. The exposition grounds form a fine pleasure garden and here are also zoological and botanical gardens. Lima's houses are in the Spanish style with the central patio and are mostly of adobe stuccoed with plaster. The cathedral, begun in 1535 and reconstructed in 1758, is the most notable building. There are about 70 other churches, some of architectural merit and several fine hospitals. Lima has considerable manufacturing industries including furniture, iron and copper articles, dyestuffs, pottery and is developing rapidly. The adobe walls which surrounded the city were destroyed in 1870, and boulevards made in their place.
The city has long been famed for its educational institutions; the national university, chartered in 1551, is the oldest university in America. It has courses in theology, law, medicine, applied science, political science, art and music. The National Library, founded in 1822, with some books from older libraries, was destroyed in 1880 by 'the Chileans. It contained then 60,000 volumes. It now contains about 50,000 volumes. There are several other libraries in the city. There are several technical schools, professional, classical, naval and military, and about 100 ele mentary schools, besides a number of small pri vate schools. Several scientific and literary so cieties provide public lecture courses. The city is noted for being the home of the first Ameri can canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Rose of Lima (1586). It has frequently suffered from earthquakes; the most destructive of which any record exists occurred in October 1746. The water supply and sewage system are good and the city is lighted by electricity. In Spanish colonial times Lima was the capital of the vice-royalty of Peru, which then included the greater part of Spanish South America. At the time of the war between Peru and Chile, Lima capitulated and the Chileans kept posses sion for two years. Many of its finest treasures and monuments were destroyed at this time. Pop. about 143,000, mostly Indian or mestizo. Consult Enoch, C. R., 'Peru' (London 1908) and Pradie-Fordere, C., 'Lima ct ses environs' (Paris 1897).