Government Palace of Peru

Brief information

The Government Palace of Peru stands not merely on Lima’s main square: beneath it, centers of power had succeeded one another even before the Spanish city existed. The original site is associated with a huaca, the shrine of Taulichusco, ruler of the Rímac Valley; later, the 1535 government palace appeared here, and during excavations an Inca temple was found beneath the Golden Drawing Room. Because of this, the present building reads as a place where the state residence has literally been placed over an earlier sacred space.

The modern palace belongs mainly to the 20th century. Its appearance is not uniform in date: the ceremonial facade was designed in 1920, while the side facing the Main Square was completed in 1938. Therefore, what matters is not only its status as the president’s residence, but also the way the building shows the successive replacement of earlier structures after destruction, fires, and reconstructions.

What to notice right away

It is worth comparing the two exterior parts of the palace. The ceremonial entrance belongs to the neo-colonial design of 1920, while the facade facing the Main Square was executed in the neo-Baroque style in 1938. These are not just different decorative tastes: the facades show that the current residence was assembled in stages rather than emerging as a single project. The wrought-iron fence emphasizes the official character of the building and separates it from the square.

In descriptions of the interiors, the materials are especially revealing. The Sevillian Room is named after the glazed tiles from Seville, and the Golden Drawing Room after its walls covered with gold leaf; vaulted ceiling, mirrors, marble columns, jasper railings, and bronze crystal chandeliers are also mentioned there. Alongside this grandeur, the contrast is important: an Inca temple was found beneath the Golden Drawing Room. After that, the splendor of the hall is perceived not only as ceremonial decor, but as the upper layer of a place with a much older foundation.