Archbishop's Palace of Lima

Brief information

The present palace looks older than it is: it opened in 1924, but was built as a neo-colonial building that deliberately speaks the language of Spanish colonial architecture. So the main intrigue here is not the antiquity of the walls, but how a new building on an old church site depicts continuity of power and style.

The site is connected with Lima’s earliest plan: after the city was founded, this block was assigned to the bishop’s residence, and in the first years of the viceroyalty the cabildo building, the city council, was used here. The old palace, with balconies of different designs and an inner courtyard, was partly demolished in the 19th century, then disappeared almost completely. What is visible now is not a surviving shell, but a museum and church residence reassembled around the idea of old Lima.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the facade and the details above the main entrance. The stone cladding creates a strict plane, while the two large cedar balconies immediately make it livelier: they are executed in the Neo-Baroque style and placed above a Neo-Plateresque entrance, that is, in a manner recalling Spanish carved decoration of the Renaissance. In this way the building shows not one “historic” style, but a deliberately assembled image of the past.

On the upper part of the facade, the granite sculpture of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, patron of the archbishopric, is important. Beside it, two flagpoles also play their part: one for Peru, the other for the Vatican. This pair explains why in 1924 the palace was called a symbol of harmony between the Catholic Church and the state. Inside, the same principle can be read in the materials and transitions: French stained glass brings in light, and marble staircases with wooden railings lead to a chapel with a Baroque altar.