Post-earthquake, Pisco’s main Plaza de Armas is a mishmash of the vanquished and the saved. The equestrian statue of José de San Martín, hand raised urging the city forward, falls into the latter category. Another survivor is the Moorish Palacio Municipal building dating from 1929 whose wrecked shell awaits a major refurb. Pisco’s biggest earthquake casualty was the colonial San Clemente Cathedral; a new, red-bricked church has gone up in its place.
Commerce has returned to pedestrianized San Martín, which runs west from the plaza and is beautified with benches, flower-covered trellises and a refreshing fountain.