Lima's Oldest Mill, Discovered In 2020, To Open To Visitors

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The Molino de Aliaga, Lima's oldest mill, will open to the public in January after being rediscovered by chance in 2020. This colonial structure remained buried and forgotten for over 300 years. The Municipal Programme for the Recovery of the Historic Centre of Lima (Prolima) found the mill while excavating an area following a partial collapse of Chabuca Granda Avenue. Since its discovery, Prolima's archaeologists have worked to conserve the site, preparing it for public access.

Spanish conquistador Jerónimo de Aliaga constructed the mill in 1548 on the banks of the Rimac River, near his residence. Aliaga arrived with Francisco Pizarro, who founded Lima on January 18, 1535. The proximity of this founding date to the Christian feast of Epiphany led to Lima's moniker,“City of Kings.”

The mill played a crucial role in producing flour for the developing city. Lima became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Perú in 1543, establishing it as South America's most significant political, administrative, religious, and economic hub until the 18th-century Bourbon reforms introduced territorial divisions. The mill, situated in an area featuring vineyards and other hydraulic structures, operated until 1672.

“We could say that the mill witnessed the glory of Lima, because the 17th century is the century of the greatest economic boom in the city,” said Luis Martín Bogdanovich Mendoza, Prolima's general manager.

Earthquakes and subsequent construction layers ultimately covered the mill. Gonzalo de Aliaga, a descendant who resides in the house built by his ancestor, noted:“I didn't know it existed. Nothing was known about it.” Jerónimo de Aliaga's home was built next to Pizarro's, where the government palace now stands. Known as the oldest house in the Americas continuously owned by the same family, Casa de Aliaga is a historic landmark, having been home to 17 generations of the Aliaga family. Tourist guides visiting the house are now connecting the mill to the residence's history.

Prolima's archaeological team has been working five meters below Chabuca Granda Avenue, progressively digging and transforming the area into Peru's largest urban archaeological site. Ernesto Olazo, Prolima's archaeology coordinator, stated:“The findings allow us to understand how the first engineering works developed in Lima functioned.”

Beyond the mill, archaeologists also uncovered the brick arch of the first bridge spanning the Rimac, which connected both banks of the river.“It's a bridge which also dates from the 16th century. The arch once marked the entrance to the city. It was a symbol of Lima,” Bogdanovich explained.

After nearly seven years of work, Prolima intends to open the mill to the public in January, coinciding with Lima's 492nd founding anniversary.“Our goal is to finish work by the end of the year so that people can access the mill itself and visit the arches where grains were ground,” Bogdanovich said.

In August, Prolima began welcoming visitors to the archaeological findings of the 16th-century Hospital and Church of the Holy Spirit in the historic city center, designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1991. The recovery of the Molino de Aliaga is part of a broader project along the Rimac. A special landscape plan aims to restore the river's prominence, as Lima's backbone, across four kilometers. The mill will be integrated into Lima's tourist circuit and later linked to the Rimac project as the city prepares for its 500th anniversary in 2035.

Source: The Art Newspaper

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