Show P A ca rr 0 its n 4 14 A T 1 residence of the archbishop of peru in lima prepared by the th national geographic 0 0 ili A capital of peru scene ofa of a L LIMA recent governmental change Is a modern elty city but it has baa not lost its reminders of the historic pat past and of pizarro Pl the conqueror who founded it on one side of the plaza stands the stern old national palace its lines as uncompromising and as firm as we were re the deeds and purposes of the man of blood and iron who planned it As one faces the palace the cathedral and tho the archbishops arch bishops residence occupy the right side of the ria plaza 7 a and the arcade of the scribes the left what aliat stories of men of action in the joys of triumph and the sorrows of defeat in the exultation of pomp and the dejections defections deject ions of disgrace center there I 1 faith and treachery honor and duplicity courage and cowardice applause and hatred all the contrasting characteristics of human nature all the quirks and turn of lifes fortunes run through the theme of limas life as the woof runs through the warp of a tapestry and give it both color and pattern to the site of llma lima years ago came francisco pizarro Ili arro he be who had been a foundling upon the steps of a church in the spanish city of trujillo then a humble hog bog herder in estrema dura and later an III iterate illiterate adventurer at panama but finally he was the grim leader who deflected the course of history at gallo the triumphant conqueror who mastered the inca warrior host at cajamarca the modern modem midas who made his ancient prototype turn over in an envious grove grave and he be was waa laden with the bloodstained treasure which atahualpa paid for the freedom never received treasure amassed by pizarro Pl cold oolda I 1 what uncounted gold he be brought down to finance the building of his him new capital I 1 had not the inca monarch so desperately desired his liberty that he undertook to fill a room 22 by 17 feet with it as high as he could reach and had not pizarro smiling grimly chalked his bis tiptoe reach at nine feet and silver I 1 yes the inca had been so EO eager to meet the highest dream of Pl Pi avarice that lie offered two roomfuls room fuls of the white metal for good measure mea aure pizarro Pl indeed had exacted the greatest kings ransom in history it was so ao much that even the humblest cavalier received in terms of american money for his share in the exploits of cajamarca so time dimmed records tell us cuzco then even its as now was no place for a capital of a country that needed contact with the sea it Is far up in the bleak and frigid puna region with an altitude of more than two miles find and with mightiest ramparts of the andes isolating it from the ocean so to the site or of lima pizarro came to build his capital the onetime one time swineherd had lived to be the first great city planner of the antipodes nor have four centuries sufficed leed to reveal a better site than he selected for the capital of peru san lorenzo thrusts its island heights boldly out of the sea shutting out the long pacific rollers and making a good harbor hard by on a coast peculiarly lacking inching in safe havens for ships san cristobal as beidl boldly rears its great head bead out of the plain and makes a magnificent sentinel for the city that nestles beneath its shadows the alluvial volley valley round about drinks in the water of tile the and flows with the milk and honey of truck and market marke t garden products though midway between the tropic of capricorn and the equator the climate has few of the attributes of the torrid zone for the cold brought up out of the antarctic regions and delly delivered ered there by the great ilum bobit current tempers tempera the heat of coastal peru in the same way that the heat beat brought out of the caribbean and gulf of mexico by tile the gulf stream tempers the cold breath of great brit biln and ireland so the mighty curtain of the cordil leras lems shuts out the hot humid rains of the region beyond while the mountain ramparts and the cold current join forces to form vaporous clouds thal tha screen the city from a too arant artt ct sun BUD city of the kings founded epiphany sunday in the year 1535 1525 dawned slid and amid tile reverent re jo icings of that sacred day pizarro announced the site and christened ills his capital capitti to be ciudad de los reyes city of tile the kings hinis the reference being to the three wise men of t tho he east a suggestion that still finds perpetuation in tile ing of lima tile the onetime one time fo foundling I 1 showed that he could build a city as a well as choose wisely its location lie began his palace selected a site alta for the cathedral laid out the plaza do da armas annas and indicated broad highways to the mountains and tile the sea alike ni as a military precaution his grizzled warriors rs laid aside powder and toledo blade hel helmet t and breastplate to take up ban hammer ate er saw W and trowel the conquerors conqueror Conquer orn lite literally ra sally poured his wealth into the embellishment ment of his hl young capital his 1118 joy and his pride and with splendor of eill edl fleet flees and pomp of gardens it marched forward toward completion drenched with the sweat and blood of thousands thousand of indian captives As we e sit in the plaza and watch the sunday morning worshipers leaving the cathedral memory harks back to that other sunday in 1541 when then the implacable rada and his devoted band swept across it to make mahe pizzaro pay a dramatic price for his perfidy toward almagro and to press to ills his lips the tha bitter cup of death which he had so remorselessly forced both almagro and to drink to its utmost dregs we leave the plaza and go into the cathedral it Is a magnificent structure much larger than pizarro built but still not so grand as the ono one erected during the early years of 0 the tha regime and destroyed by the great earthquake that wiped out callao the nearby near by seaport the high altar Is of massive silver cont contraction ruction containing it Is asserted some of the very white metal with which atahualpa vainly sought to buy his liberty in the chapel of the virgin Is a celebrated image presented by emperor charles V of spain and in the chapel arcediano Arced lano an original painting attributed to Murl llo depre benting jesus and veronica hero rests a glass and marble ca arf la Is mo most t interesting of nil all se for it contains th the half halt mummy halt half skeleton reputed to be the remains of the great conqueror ancient and modern mingled leaving the cathedral we stroll out along a I 1 0 ng the splendid concrete boulevard that leads up from magdalena pro inca ruins busy cigarette factories and one fine modern residences share its if borders perhaps it was along alone this very highway that the first viceroy blasco nunez made his triumphal entry sent by his king to compose the internecine struggle that followed the fall of pizarro Pl everywhere one goes about old lima there are scenes reminiscent of those tremendous years of the regime of the Il Ili but except for the casket in the cathedral the city seems not to have done either the elder francisco or the younger gonzalo the slightest lionor honor what a contrast there Is between I 1 limas imas latest thirteen years and that stirring first thirteen I 1 A new era has dawned and a modern city not only Is rising around the old lima blit even the old city itself with all of its nearly four centuries of existence Is combining successfully the ancient and the modern modem the keynote of the new development Is the fine new avenue leading from the old city to the suburbs until a few weeks ago it was named avenida Aven lda cegula for the man has held tho the presidency for more than a decade since Le gulas deposition however the boulevard has been renamed avenida Aven lda arequipa along the main avenue the traveler might compare it with on one a of those beautiful boulevards that extend from washington to its neighboring communities it has certain parking throughout much of its length ample walks innumerable park benches and a lighting system that la Is tile the last word in illumination engineering As one drives down this delightful thoroughfare over to the right is the tha country club a magnificent structure with ith environing golf links 1010 i 1 olo fields tennis courts and swimming pool like a bit of westchester county dropped down in peru and what a site for the outdoor ufa life of 0 the elate of the capital it Is I 1 away to the south rises morro solar cross and chopel chapel crowned mounting per guard over the tha brighton of the tha west coast chorrillos Chor beyond stands the bold series of ridges that borders tile the fertile valley of the luria to the west the broad pacific dashes its ita willae a alte crowned rollers upon tho level bunch bech and san lorenzo adds a glorious figure to the marine view to the east the rocky ricly billows of the tha mighty cordilleras cordilleran Cordi lleras rise each successive crest above its predecessor until rt pt last in the blue of the distance and ilie azure ot of the sky earth and air seem to deltinto melt Mel tInto into one |