Rímac

Rímac, distrito (district) of the Lima–Callao metropolitan area, north of central Lima, Peru. Created a district in 1921, the site was settled in early colonial days. The Puente de Piedras (“Bridge of Stone”) was built in 1610. Notable colonial landmarks include the promenade and Monastery of the Descalzos (Barefoot Brethren); a building claimed to be the Palace of “La Perricholi” (Micaela Villegas, the mistress of an 18th-century viceroy), which now houses the Museum of the Viceroys; and the Acho bullring, oldest in the Americas.

Outside its historic area, Rímac is essentially a lower-income, residential district with small commercial, industrial, and service establishments. The lower slopes of the surrounding Andean foothills are increasingly covered with pueblos jóvenes (“young towns”), some developing into communities and others stagnating as slums. One large sector of Rímac is occupied by military garrisons and housing. The National University of Engineering (1955) is located in the district. Overlooking historic Rímac and downtown Lima is San Cristóbal Hill. Pop. (2005) 175,793.