Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A capital with a complicated past

Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and soon became the seat of the Viceroyalty of Peru, the administrative heart of Spanish rule in South America. Its historic centre, with the Plaza Mayor and the cathedral, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Long before the Spanish arrived, the region around Lima was home to several indigenous cultures, whose temples and burial sites still surface during construction work.

One monument, many meanings

The Sphinx sits on the Giza plateau in Egypt, carved from a single outcrop of limestone and usually dated to the reign of the pharaoh Khafre. It depicts a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head, a combination found in art and mythology well beyond Egypt. Over the centuries the statue has been buried by sand more than once and restored repeatedly, most famously in the 20th century.

A currency named after weight

The Chilean peso takes its name from the Spanish word for "weight", a reminder that many currencies began as measures of precious metal. Chile shares the peso with several other Latin American countries, though each issues its own notes and coins with distinct designs. The Peruvian sol, one of the wrong options here, similarly means "sun" and reflects a different national symbol.

Mozart's restless masterpiece

"Don Giovanni" premiered in Prague in 1787, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart conducting and Lorenzo Da Ponte writing the libretto. The opera blends comedy and tragedy, following the final hours of a legendary seducer who refuses to repent. Mozart reportedly wrote much of the score quickly, and the overture is said to have been completed the night before the premiere.

A rainforest shared by many nations

The Amazon Rainforest is often associated with Brazil, but it also covers large parts of Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, along with smaller areas of other South American countries. The river system that drains it carries more water than any other on Earth. Deforestation, much of it driven by agriculture and cattle ranching, remains the region's most pressing environmental concern.