This may just be the most famous school in Lima. The school of Lima’s elite since 1840, it has seen the rich, powerful and influential pass through its doors. Most of today’s political, military and business leaders are graduates and were students during the later part of Lima’s heyday.

The school was named for the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico who in 1951 was declared the Patron of the students of Peru by Pope Paul VI thanks the the schools reputation. In 1855 President Mariscal Ramón Castilla converted it from a private to a national school for the best students of all of Peru so that they may have access to the best teaching and discipline.

Tags: 1800s, 1900s, lima, mariscal ramon castilla, mexico, patron, school, virgin of guadalupe