Huamanga Archos, Colonial plaza in Ayacucho, Peru.
Huamanga Archos is a colonial square in Ayacucho, Peru, enclosed on all four sides by covered stone arcades with red tile roofs. A monument to Antonio José de Sucre stands at its center, and two fountains sit along the eastern and western edges.
The square was founded in 1540 by Francisco Pizarro as the center of the newly established Spanish colonial city. Over the following centuries, it remained the main gathering point for both civic and religious life in the region.
The Cathedral and the Municipal Palace line two sides of this square, giving it a role as both a religious and civic center for the city. In the evenings, locals gather under the covered arcades to talk, sit, and watch the day wind down.
The square can be reached from several directions through Cuzco Avenue and the surrounding portals that open onto each side. Visiting in the early morning or late afternoon is a good idea, as the sun is less harsh and the light falls more gently on the stone arcades.
Huamanga Archos is the only square in Peru where complete stone arcades with columns run along all four sides without interruption. This makes it a rare surviving example of the kind of urban design that Spanish planners applied to their colonial cities across the Americas.
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