The monument, which shows Pizarro on horseback with a drawn sword, was created by the American sculptor Charles Rumsey and offered by his widow in honor of the city’s fourth centenary in 1935.
In 2003 it was moved to a park next to the railway tracks outside the city center after calls for its removal.
Luis Bogdanovic, who was in charge of the restoration of the historic center, told local media that the statue had been damaged by the continuous passage of trains, causing it to crack.
The bronze statue was unveiled Saturday alongside Mr. Bogdanovic and several of Pizarro’s descendants in Lima’s main square, the Plaza de Armas.
Díaz Ayusa said the ceremony commemorates “not only the birth of the city, but also the beginning of a historic meeting that changed the world forever,” according to Spanish daily El Pais.
Dozens of Peruvians held a demonstration nearby, opposing his return, AFP reports.
“This is an insult, an insult to all the indigenous peoples of Peru, Latin America and the world,” one person said.
