Government Palace
Peru · Americas
About
The Government Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Gobierno), also known as the House of Pizarro (Spanish: Casa de Pizarro), is the seat of the executive branch of the Peruvian government, and the official residence of the president of Peru. The palace is a stately government building, occupying the northern side of the Plaza Mayor in Peru's capital city, Lima. Set on the Rímac River, the palace occupies the site of a very large huaca ("revered object") that incorporated a shrine to Taulichusco, the last kuraka (indigenous governor) of Lima.
The first Government Palace was built by Francisco Pizarro, governor of New Castile, in 1535. When the Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1542, it became the viceroy's residence and seat of government as the Viceregal Palace (Spanish: Palacio Virreinal; Palacio de los Virreyes), also known as the Casas Reales. This palace no longer exists since fires destroyed much of it in 1884 and 1921 and what remained was later demolished.
The current palace was built from 1926 to 1938, under the direction of President Oscar R. Benavides during his second term of office. The chief architects were Claude Antoine Sahut Laurent and Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski.
A number of ceremonial guard units of the Peruvian Armed Forces are stationed at the palace, and participate in the daily Changing of the Guard ceremony and other official duties.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.