The Legislative Palace () is a government building that serves as the seat of the Congress of Peru, the legislative branch of the Peruvian government. Located at Ayacucho (formerly Urubamba) street, it lies next to next to the Bolivar Square and forms part of the neighbourhood of Barrios Altos, itself part of the historic centre of Lima. The palace contains the congressional chambers, the Raúl Porras Barrenechea Hall; the Hall of the Lost Steps; and the offices of the congressional leaders, commissions, and parliamentary groups. This building houses the sessions of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as well as the inauguration speech of the President. Located behind the building is José Faustino Sánchez Carrión Square (), a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

named after the pro-Independence politician and maintained by Congress.

History

The site was originally the location of San Juan de la Penitencia, a ''casa de recogimiento'' built under the government of Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis of Cañete and established in 1550 to house creole and mestiza women orphaned by the civil wars of the ''

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es''. In 1577, Viceroy Francisco de Toledo granted the site to the University of San Marcos, which occupied it throughout the viceregal period. On September 20, 1822, the Constituent Congress was installed in the building, as established in its provisional internal regulations. In the meantime, the university temporarily moved to the ''Colegio de San Pedro''. During that time, the Congress also occupied certain rooms of the old premises that belonged to the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

, deactivated in 1820. The Senate was established in that building from September 1, 1829, the date on which the first ordinary session was installed. Previously, on July 20, 1829, the first preparatory meeting of the Senate was held. On January 19, 1869, Congress issued a Legislative Resolution authorising then President José Balta to order the construction of a Legislative Palace. On April 26, 1873, Congress again approved the authorisation for the construction of said palace, also pointing out the need to also build a building for the Executive Branch of Peru. However, neither of these requests could be met due to the economic situation that the country was facing (decline of the guano boom) and the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. Before this confrontation, on November 7, 1878, Congress suspended the effects of its resolution issued in 1873. Construction on a new legislative building began in 1904 based on the design of the French architect Emilio Robert. To make construction possible, the building—then used by the Charity of Lima as a hospital—and its adjacent Church of Saint Mary of Charity () were demolished in 1916. The latter had been established in 1562. While the building served several political functions over the following decades of construction, it was not permanently occupied until 1938 during the presidency of Óscar R. Benavides. In 2007, the building was damaged due to the strong earthquake that took place on August 15, leading to the temporary closure of the third floor.

References

{{Authority control Government of Peru Buildings and structures in Lima Government buildings completed in 1936 Neoclassical architecture in Peru Seats of national legislatures Historic Centre of Lima

History

See also

References