Callao District

Callao (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈʎao]) is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Callao Region, which is also coterminous with the Province of Callao. Founded in 1537 by the Spaniards, the city has a long naval history as one of the main ports in Latin America and the Pacific, as it was one of vital Spanish towns during the colonial era. Central Callao is about 15 km (9.3 mi) west of the Historic Centre of Lima.

The Blockade of Callao was a military operation that occurred during the War of the Pacific or the Salitre War and that consisted of the Chilean squadron preventing the entry of ships to the port of Callao and the neighboring coves between 10 April 1880 and 17 January 1881.

The St. Joseph's Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de San José ) also called Callao Cathedral or Callao's Main Church is a religious building in El Callao part of the constitutional province of Callao part of the South American country of Peru. It is a property of the Catholic Church. The building is neoclassical in style. The construction was completed in 1893 with the design of Antonio Dañino. It was remodeled after an earthquake in 1970. On September 16, 1995, it was officially consecrated as Callao Cathedral. It is the mother church or main church of the Diocese of Callao (Diocese Callaënsis) that was created in 1967 by Pope Paul VI through the bull Aptiorem Ecclesiarum. It is under the pastoral responsibility of Bishop José Luis Del Palacio and Pérez-Medel.

Colegio San José Maristas del Callao is a private Catholic primary and secondary school, located in Callao, in the Lima metropolitan area of Peru. The school is run by the Marist Brothers who began teaching in the area in 1909. In 2018 the secondary had 10 sections with 307 students.

BAP Abtao (SS-42) is an Abtao-class submarine of the Peruvian Navy. The vessel which was originally named BAP Tiburón ("Shark"), was constructed by the American Electric Boat company in the United States and launched in 1953. The Abtao class were the last submarines constructed by the United States for the export market. The submarine entered service in 1954 and by presidential decree, was renamed Abtao for the battle during the Chincha Islands War. Armed with six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes and a 5 in (127 mm)/25 caliber gun, the 243 ft (74.1 m) submarine took part in the rescue of the crew of BAP Pacocha, another submarine that had sunk following a collision. Abtao was taken out of service in 1999 and converted into a museum ship located in Lima, Peru. Abtao was the first museum ship in Latin America.

The Real Felipe Fortress was built to defend the main Peruvian port and the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was pivotal in the 1826 naval battle between a Spanish fleet sent to South America to "reclaim" its colonies and land batteries in the coast of Peru. The Real Felipe Fortress is currently the Peruvian Army Museum, displaying historical uniforms, weapons and other military paraphernalia.

Bellavista is a district of the Constitutional Province of Callao in Peru, and one of the seven districts that comprise the port city of Callao. The current mayor of the district is Daniel Malpartida.

The Battle of Callao (Spanish: Combate del Dos de Mayo, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Callao during the Chincha Islands War. The Spanish fleet bombarded the port of Callao (or El Callao), and eventually withdrew without any notable damage to the city structures, according to the Peruvian and American sources; or after having silenced almost all the guns of the coastal defenses, according to the Spanish accounts and French observers. This proved to be the final battle of the war between Spanish and Peruvian forces.

The British Cemetery of Callao Peru is a cemetery used exclusively for burials of members of the British community in Peru. It has since been used for other expatriate nationalities.

Callao Naval Base (Spanish: Base Naval del Callao) is the main naval base of the Peruvian Navy. Located north of the main port of Callao, it is also a high-security prison, where members of terrorist groups such as the Shining Path and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) are located. The base hosts a dockyard and naval aviation base, as we;; as the Naval Medical Center, which contains the U.S. Navy's Naval Medical Research Unit Six.A project to modernise the base started in the northern part of the facility on June 21, 2023.

The first siege of Callao was a prolonged military blockade of the Real Felipe Fortress (as well as other fortresses) in Callao by the Liberating Expedition of Peru under the command of General José de San Martín in July 1821 which culminated in the capitulation of Marshal José de La Mar in September of the same year, with him switching sides from the Royalist side to the Patriot side.

The second siege of Callao was the longest lasting siege that occurred on the Pacific coast during the Spanish American wars of independence. The siege was carried out by the combined Gran Colombian and Peruvian independence forces against the royalist soldiers defending the Real Felipe Fortress in the port of Callao, who refused to surrender, and refused to accept the capitulation of the Battle of Ayacucho. The siege took place from December 5, 1824 to January 23, 1826, when the royalist stronghold was defeated, ending the Spanish Empire's presence in South America.