Arco del Puente, Stone arch in Lima District, Peru

The Arco del Puente was a stone arch marking the entrance to the Stone Bridge and connecting Lima's center with the Rimac district through an ornate wooden structure. The arch housed a monumental clock installed in 1852 that illuminated both sides and served as a public timekeeper for the city.

Built in 1700 under Viceroy Melchor Portocarrero Lasso de la Vega in the Plazuela de Los Desamparados, the arch was damaged by the 1746 earthquake, which destroyed its statue of Philip V. Repaired in the 1760s under Viceroy Manuel Amat y Juniet, it received a clock from the San Pedro church. A new Jesuit-donated clock was added in 1852, and the arch was restored in 1868 under José Balta. It burned on 10 April 1879, set alight by the Chilean agent Cornelio Granados.

The bronze statue of King Philip V, made by Baltazar Gavilán and placed on the arch in 1738, is told by Ricardo Palma in his Tradiciones peruanas. In the 1760s the figure was replaced by an oil lamp, and a clock from the San Pedro church tower took the place of a statue of Nuestra Señora de Belén.

The arch stood on the south side of the Puente de Piedra, facing the Casas Reales, in what is now Lima's historic centre. Nothing of it remains, so look for the bridge and the Plazuela de Los Desamparados to locate the spot. The 1852 clock it held was donated by the Jesuits.

In 1738 the structure featured a bronze statue of King Philip V created by sculptor Baltazar Gavilan. This statue was destroyed during the 1746 earthquake and disappeared from the city landscape forever.