Lima metropolitan area

The Lima Metropolitan Area (Área Metropolitana de Lima, also known as Lima Metropolitana) is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian provinces of Lima (the nation's capital) and Callao. It is the largest of the metropolitan areas of Peru, the seventh largest in the Americas, the fourth largest in Latin America, and among the thirty largest in the world. The conurbation process started to be evident in the 1980s. The metropolitan area is composed of five subregions. These are Lima Norte, Lima Sur, Lima Este, Central Lima, and Callao. Its estimated 2020 population is over 11 million according to the INEI. The City of the Kings (Lima) was founded by Spanish colonists on January 18, 1535. The port of Callao was founded similarly two years later (1537). The city of Lima began when Francisco Pizarro declared it at what is known in Christianity as the Epiphany. He declared it at the center of the city, the Plaza Mayor. It would become the most important city in South America. The city of Callao has also been highly important, as for hundreds of years it was the only port in all of the Viceroyalty of Peru (all of Spanish South America at the time) allowed to ship anything to the rest of the world. For hundreds of years, Lima and Callao were separated by a desert. This did not diminish the importance of the union between the two cities. It was not until the 19th century that they were connected by a railroad. The metropolitan linkage between these two cities did not start until they both grew enough to, in essence, crash into each other. In the present day, Lima is the most important metropolis in Peru and in the Andean region. The area's financial district is San Isidro. It is home to a large concentration of business centers, skyscrapers, and commerce. Miraflores and Barranco are two districts where the city's nightlife is mainly based in. Parts of the metropolis can be lively; music at night is common in some areas.