Lima conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as "Ciudad de los Reyes". It became the capital and most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Around one-third of the national population lives in the metropolitan area. Lima is home to one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the New World. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551, during the Spanish colonial regime, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas. In October 2013, Lima was chosen to
Lima Province divided into 43 districts. Each of them is headed by a mayor, although the Metropolitan Lima Municipal Council ("Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima"), led by the mayor of Lima, also exercises its authority in these districts. All the districts of Lima province are fused together in a continuous urban area, with the exception of the beach resorts of Ancon and Santa Rosa in the north and Pachacamac, Punta Hermosa, Punta Negra, San Bartolo, Santa Maria del Mar and Pucusana in the south. Lima Province is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima ("Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima"), which also administers the city