In front of you is Lima Cathedral, declared finished in 1622 and rebuilt several times after earthquakes. Inside, in a chapel near the entrance, lies the city's founder. Or at least, that's what people believe today.

1Murder in the palace

Francisco Pizarro died on 26 June 1541, killed in his own house across the square by supporters of his former partner Diego de Almagro. He was buried in haste, and his remains were later moved to the cathedral.

2The wrong mummy

In 1891, on the 350th anniversary of his death, a commission identified a mummy kept in the cathedral as Pizarro, and it was put on show in a glass case. For decades, visitors prayed before it.

In 1977, workers in the crypt opened a sealed niche. Inside was a lead box holding a skull, with an inscription attributing it to Pizarro, alongside another box of bones from several people. In 1984 a team led by the American forensic anthropologist William Maples examined the remains: the skull showed numerous sword wounds, consistent with the chronicles of the murder.

The conclusion was that the mummy displayed since 1891 was not Pizarro. Today the remains found in 1977 are accepted as his, although some historians disputed the result.

3What to look for

  • The two towers, completed in 1797.
  • The central doorway, the most ornate of the three.
  • The balconies of the Archbishop's Palace, to the left.

Documented

Pizarro was murdered on 26 June 1541; in 1977 a skull in a lead box was found in the crypt and attributed to him by forensic experts in 1984.

Sources and credits

Archdiocese of Lima, Cathedral Museum of Religious Art; William R. Maples and Michael Browning, «Dead Men Do Tell Tales» (1994); Hugo Ludeña, studies on the remains of Francisco Pizarro.

Photos:

  • Façade of Lima Cathedral with its two towers and palm trees on the Plaza Mayor: Wasiwatana, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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