Ica's main square has the usual cathedral, palm trees, and ornamental fountains. The cathedral itself was badly damaged in the 2007 earthquake — which destroyed much of central Ica — and has been rebuilt, though it lacks the colonial character of older Peruvian cathedrals.
The plaza is the centre of evening life, with families taking the air, shoe-shiners working the benches, and small vendors selling tejas (the local sweet of caramel-stuffed pecans wrapped in fondant). The Iglesia de San Francisco, two blocks away, survived the earthquake and is worth a quick look.