Plaza Mayor

As the city grew, the community began to set up residences along what is now the Plaza Mayor.
Much of the working class, the Jewish community, as well as the Moorish community moved onto or around the plaza, and it soon became the new center of life, much as the parts inside the muralla had been before. These communities were named according to the church it surrounded, for example, one such community was called San Martín, after the church which was built on the Plaza. A large market was established on the plaza, with each side signifying a specific product: the portal de pan, portal de carne, portal del lienzo, portal de la verdura, and the portal de paño. Along with a market the plaza also served as a place for social functions as well as the original Casa de Comedias which was a local theater in which the actors portrayed autosacrementales, or scenes taken from the bible. Bullfights, processions and town meeting also took place in the plaza. Around the plaza were built many monasteries, churches, convents, and other religious buildings. This amount of Christianity in Trujillo limited the existence other religions, because before their expulsion, Jewish and Moorish people could inhabit Trujillo but their daily activities were limited by the Church’s laws. The plaza is still utilized as a market to some degree, as many restaurants and artisan shops inhabit the ancient space. Today, one of the main features of the plaza is the huge bronze statue honoring Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru and native of Trujillo. (Bissell, page 14)

The first arrabal, or neighborhood outside the protective walls of the city, developed around the church of San Martín. The Main Square or Plaza Mayor of Trujillo is found in this arrabal. As late as the 16th century it was still called the "San Martín Arrabal Square" or the "Arrabal Square". During the 16th century Trujillo's nobility moved out of the walled city and built new palaces and country villas on the outskirts. In this way, the arrabal became the new nobel neighborhood, and the Plaza Mayor its center. The Plaza Mayor is an irregularly shaped plaza surrounded by wide, covered sidewalks. The main use of the square was as a marketplace as described above.(Lancia Publications, page12)