The Plaza de Armas (Plaza of Arms) is the name for the main square in many Latin American cities. While some large cities have both a Plaza de Armas and a Plaza Mayor, in most cities those are two names for the same place. Plaza is a Spanish word related to field which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. ...
Most cities contructed by the Spanish Conquistadores were designed on a standard military fashion based on a grid pattern, taken from the RomanCastrum, of which one of the blocks would be left vacant to form the Plaza de Armas. It is often surrounded by governmental buildings, churches, and other structures of cultural or political significance. The name derives from the fact that this are would be a refuge in case of an attack upon the city, from which arms would be supplied to the defenders. Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under Spanish rule between the 15th and 17th centuries. ... The grid plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. ... Roman or Romans may refer to: History Ancient Rome (9th century BC – 5th century AD) Roman Kingdom (753 BC to 509 BC) Roman Republic (509 BC to 44 BC) Roman Empire (44 BC to AD 476) Roman citizen Byzantine Empire (330 to 1453), also known as the Eastern Roman Empire... In the Roman Empire, a castra (the plural form of castrum, castri, a fortification) was a Roman military camp. ...
Main examples of Plaza de Armas in the Hispanic World
Plaza de Armas in Pisco, Peru: Where people get together and meet. The Plaza contains many landmarks including the 18th century Cathedral, the baroque Iglesia de la Compañía and an elaborate main post office that was once the Spanish governor's residence. The square became the base of administrative, commercial and social life when the city was founded in 1541 and today it remains the centre of life in the city. There is always something to do because there are people from all walks of life, local artists and buskers, or at night with games.
The PlazadeArmas is not only the heart of downtown's Santiago, but also a centre for most activities and almost a compulsory place to cross by for anybody walking in the centre.
Plazadearmas is surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Central Post Office, the Santiago Municipality (Mayor's House) and the 17th century -although fully refurbished- Portal Fernandez Concha.
PlazadeArmas has been modernized and only a corner of it still retains some of the previous glory.
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