Built in the early 20th century, Plaza San Martín has come to life in recent years as the city has set about restoring its park and giving the surrounding beaux-arts architecture a much-needed scrubbing. It is especially lovely in the evenings, when illuminated. The plaza is named for the liberator of Peru, José de San Martín , who sits astride a horse at the center of the plaza.
At the base of the statue, don’t miss the bronze rendering of Madre Patria , the symbolic mother of Peru. Commissioned in Spain under instruction to give the good lady a crown of flames, nobody thought to iron out the double meaning of the word flame in Spanish (llama), so the hapless craftsmen duly placed a delightful little llama on her head.
The once-stately Gran Hotel Bolívar , built in the 1920s, presides over the square from the northwest.
