Alameda de los Descalzos

Laid out in the seventeenth century across the Rímac River from central Lima, this tree-lined promenade was once the fashionable place for the viceregal elite to stroll among fountains and marble statues. Twelve statues representing the zodiac, imported from Italy in the nineteenth century, line its balustraded walkway. The avenue leads to the Convent of the Descalzos beside the old bullring district. Restoration has revived its ornamental railings and gardens, evoking the leisured pace of colonial society.