The Casa O'Higgins is a colonial-style building located in the

historic centre of Lima The Historic Centre of Lima () is the historic city centre of the city of Lima, the capital of Peru. Located in the city's districts of Lima and Rímac, both in the Rímac Valley, it consists of two areas: the first is the Monumental Zone est ...

, specifically located in the Jirón de la Unión, a few metres from the

Plaza de Armas ''Plaza de armas'' (pl. ; literally ''arms square'' or ''place-of-arms'') is a Spanish language, Spanish term commonly used to refer to town square, town squares in Latin America, Spain and the Philippines, as well as a name commonly given to th ...

of the Peruvian capital. Since 2008, the house has functioned as a

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

of the

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (, PUCP) is a private university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1917 with the support and approval of the Catholic church, being the oldest private institution of higher learning in the country. The Peru ...

and a permanent space dedicated to the memory of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

. It forms part of the

Cultural heritage of Peru The cultural heritage of Peru, officially the Cultural heritage of the Nation, is the name given to the set of goods, both tangible and intangible, accumulated over time. These goods can be paleontological, archaeological, architectural, historical ...

History

The house bears its name because it was the mansion where the Chilean soldier and politician,

, spent part of his youth, who is considered a

Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...

of Chile and one of the ''

Libertadores ''Libertadores'' (, "Liberators") were the principal leaders of the Spanish American wars of independence from Spain and of the movement in support of Brazilian independence from Portugal. They are named that way in contrast with the ''Conquistad ...

'' of Latin America. After his abdication as

Supreme Director of Chile Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero created by Rob Liefeld * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * ...

in 1823, it was also his home of exile in the newly independent

Republic of Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

until his death in 1842. Bernardo O'Higgins was the son of

Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins f ...

, viceroy of Peru between 1796 and 1801. Later, the second floor of the house briefly housed the National Club between 1892 and 1895, being owned by through the Ramírez de Arellano y Baquíjano Testamentary. Starting in 1897, the house functioned as the first location of the International Bank of Peru, and was later occupied by the renowned ''Astoria'' restaurant during the 1920s. After remaining for years in a state of natural deterioration over time, the house is currently preserved as a restored house museum and open to the public since 2008. For this, it was financed by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

at the beginning, and later received contributions from the

Chilean government Chile's government is a representative democratic republic, in which the President of Chile serves as both head of state and head of government, within a formal multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabi ...

through cultural funds from the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

through an agreement with the

(PUCP). Within its premises, it has a room adapted for exhibitions of historical-cultural interest. It is administered by the PUCP's

Riva-Agüero Institute The Riva-Agüero Institute (, IRA) is an institute created in 1947 by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, named after its benefactor, José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma. Located in the Casona Riva-Agüero of the historic centre of Lima, wher ...

References

{{coord, -12.04758, -77.03256, format=dms, type:landmark_region:PE, display=title Museums in Lima Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Chile–Peru relations Cultural heritage of Peru Houses in Peru Historic Centre of Lima Museums established in 2008

History

See also

References