The Park of the Exposition (Spanish: Parque de la Exposición) is a park located in the neighborhood of

downtown Lima Lima is a district of Lima Province in Peru. Lima district is the oldest in Lima Province and as such, vestiges of the city's colonial era remain today in the historic centre of Lima, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 and ...

, capital 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 ...

History

The park was occupied by the south gate of the

Walls of Lima The Walls of Lima were a fortification consisting mainly of walls and bastions whose purpose was to defend the city of Lima from exterior attacks. It was built between 1684 and 1687, during the Viceroy Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull (Duke of Pa ...

, known as ''Puerta de Guadalupe''. In the 1870s President

José Balta José Balta y Montero (25 April 1814 – 26 July 1872) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as the 19th President of Peru from 1868 to 1872. He was the son of John Balta Bru and Agustina Montero Casafranca. In 1865, he aided Ma ...

ordered the demolition of these walls within its modernization plan of the city. It was planned that this location would be aimed at building a park that would house the Lima International Exhibition of 1872. Thus, alongside the park, rose the Exhibition Palace (now the

Lima Art Museum The Lima Art Museum (Museo de Arte de Lima) is an art museum in Lima, Peru. The museum is located in the Palacio de la Exposición. The museum was inaugurated in 1961. The collection includes ceramics and textiles. MALI is a private organization s ...

). The park plan was made by and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Antonio Leonardi Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

. Its design was neo-Renaissance and included the construction of pavilions including a zoo and other buildings. Leonardi also designed the Exhibition Palace. In the beginning the largest, covering the current and contemporary

Park of the Reserve The Parque de la Reserva (English: ''Park of the Reserve'') is a park located in downtown Lima, in Peru. Built in an irregular shape, it is located between two of the city's principal streets, the Paseo de la Republica expressway and Arequipa Aven ...

and the land where now stands the Estadio Nacional, were part of the park. During the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, the park had a military use, before the invasion, as a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

and a hospital and after the invasion as headquarters for the Chilean troops. With the celebration of the

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

of the independence of

Augusto B. Leguía Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (February 19, 1863 – February 6, 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as ''El Oncenio de Leguía'' (Leguía's E ...

was ordered to build several additional buildings, such as Byzantine Hall and the building that served as headquarters of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and is currently intended to be the Metropolitan Museum of Lima. In 1961 he ordered the demolition of the

Panopticon The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be o ...

of Lima and the construction of the Civic Centre of Lima, the land north of Park of the Exposition and currently home to the Centre for Military and Historical Studies and the

Museum of Italian Art The Museum of Italian Art (Spanish: Museo de Arte italiano) is a public museum in Lima, Peru, under the administration of the National Culture Institute. It's the only European arts museum in Peru. History The Museum of Italian Art was the gift f ...

that originally belonged the park, were considered part of the same. During the 1970s, the Park of the Exposition fell into a severe decline. In the 1990s, during the administration of

Alberto Andrade Alberto Manuel Andrade Carmona (December 24, 1943 – June 19, 2009) was a Peruvian lawyer and politician, born in Lima who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1996 to 2002 and as a Congressman from 2006 until his death. Education He studied at ...

, the Park was restored and lakes and an amphitheater were created and the park opened to the park. Andrade renamed the park calling it Gran Parque de Lima but it later returned to its original name.

Gallery

Image:Palaciodelaexposicion.jpg, View of the Exhibition Palace in its opening Image:Pabellonmorisco.jpg, Moorish pavilion built during the government of Augusto B. Leguía Image:Fuentechinafrente.jpg, Chinese fountain donated by

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

colony to mark the centenary of the Independence of Peru. Image:Limamuseodearteitaliano.jpg,

File:Jesuscristo acuarela 05072009.JPG, Artist painting portrays Jesus Christ, pastel

References

{{coord, 12, 03, 41, S, 77, 02, 12, W, region:PE_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Parks in Peru World's fair sites in South America Tourist attractions in Lima Geography of Lima

History

Gallery

See also

References