La Casa de Fierro (

archaism In language, an archaism (from the grc, ἀρχαϊκός, ''archaïkós'', 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately , ''archaîos'', 'from the beginning, ancient') is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a hi ...

, English: the Iron House, French: La Maison de Fer), located in the city of

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world th ...

in the jungle of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, in front of the major square between Próspero and Putumayo streets, is a large iron residence built during the

rubber boom The Amazon rubber boom ( pt, Ciclo da borracha, ; es, Fiebre del caucho, , 1879 to 1912) was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related to the extraction and comm ...

at the end of the nineteenth century. The house was bought by the Bolivian explorer and entrepreneur Antonio Vaca Diez. Iquitos-Casa de Hierro (01)

La Casa de Fierro is one of the finest as well as best-preserved samples of civil architecture in Peru. The walls, ceiling, and balcony are plastered in rectangular sheets of iron. It is said to be the first prefabricated house in the Americas. Although popularly said to have been designed by the French architect

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

, there is no evidence at all that this is true; the building does not reflect his architectural style. Since 2011 well substantiated claims prove it was built in the Belgian workshops of Les Forges d'Aiseau (Joseph Danly process)., Rubber baron Anselmo del Aguila bought it at the International Exposition of Paris in 1889. Once dismantled, it was brought in pieces to Iquitos (the metal sheets were carried by hundreds of men through the jungle), and assembled there in 1890. Since 1985, it is being administered by the Club Social de Iquitos; which has contributed in its restoration. Its second floor now has a restaurant. Today the house servers as a restaurant in the second, La Casa de Fierro Restaurante, and stores in the ground level. A fully different story of the origin of the house is told in

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

's ''

Captain Pantoja and the Special Service ''Captain Pantoja and the Special Service'' ( es, Pantaleón y las visitadoras; 1973) is a relatively short comedic novel by acclaimed Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The story takes place in the Peruvian department of Amazonas, where troo ...

'' (''Pantaleón y las visitadoras''), a

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literary ...

References

External links

Juegos Divertidos

Iquitos: following the route of the rubber boom

"Any Old Iron?", , that pretends unreliably this is Eiffel's

A brief history of the Iron House, that pretends unreliably this is Eiffel's {{DEFAULTSORT:Casa De Fierro Houses completed in 1890 Buildings and structures in Iquitos Architecture in Peru

See also

References

External links