La Cruz del Viajero

La Cruz del Viajero (The Cross of the Traveller) is a monument placed by Franciscan monks in 1672 in the small town of Magdalena Vieja (now Pueblo Libre), just outside Lima, the capital city of Peru, and the old centre of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.

This followed a tradition started by Conquistador Francisco Pizarro, requiring the placement of a cross on the main routes to other parts of the country. Travellers would stop at the cross to ask for protection on their journeys, either across Peru or via ship to Central America or Spain, where the cross was made.

The old cross remains near the centre of the modern-day district of Pueblo Libre and is one of its main attractions.

References

* [http://enperublog.com/2008/07/02/cruz-del-viajero/ Cruz del Viajero]