- published: 07 Feb 2013
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Callao (/kɑːˈjaʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈʎa.o] or [kaˈʝa.o]) is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost one-third of Peru's population. Callao borders Lima Province on the north, east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
Callao was founded by Spanish colonists in 1537, just two years after Lima (1535). It soon became the main port for Spanish commerce in the Pacific. The origin of its name is unknown; both Indian (particularly Yunga, or Coastal Peruvian) and Spanish sources are credited, but it is certain that it was known by that name since 1550.
At the height of the Viceroyalty, virtually all goods produced in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina were carried over the Andes by mule to Callao, to be shipped to Panama, carried overland, and then transported on to Spain via Cuba.
Avenida Callao is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in Paris at the direction of Baron Haussmann, drew up master plans for major boulevards, running east to west (every six blocks) and north to south (every ten blocks). Named in honor of the decisive Battle of Callao, the avenue was included in the plan and widened in the 1880s. A one-way thoroughfare following a 1967 ordinance, the avenue travels northwards from its outset at Rivadavia Avenue, along the northwest corner of Congressional Plaza. That intersection is known for both the Argentine Congress and the El Molino Café, both of whose domes are Buenos Aires landmarks. At the corner of Callao and Bartolemo Mitre is Residencia Azul, a student residence for college students and foreign travelers.