The Cathedral of Lima was begun in 1535 — Pizarro laid the first stone himself — though earthquakes have destroyed and reshaped it repeatedly: the current facade is mostly 18th century, the interior largely rebuilt after the great 1746 quake. The wide three-nave interior houses a series of 17th-century carved-cedar choir stalls and a magnificent baroque main altar in carved gilt. The side chapels are particularly rich, with paintings by the Cuzco school and Spanish-Italian masters.
In a glass-fronted side chapel near the entrance, what are believed to be the bones of Francisco Pizarro lie in a lead casket — the actual remains were misidentified for 400 years until the 1977 reburial. The crypt below the main altar is open to visitors and contains the tombs of colonial viceroys and archbishops. Admission includes the small Museo de Arte Religioso in the cloister.