The Palacio de la Exposición is a building on Colon Avenue in downtown Lima,

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 ...

. It was constructed in the 19th century with the Park of the Exposition to house the International Exposition of Lima in 1872. Since 1957, it has been home to the Lima Art Museum.

History

The building was constructed in unison with the Park of the Exposition and was ordered built by president Jose Balta in 1869 for the international exposition that was to take place in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in celebration for fifty years of Peruvian independence. The construction of the building took place between 1870 and 1871. The building is of a neo-Renaissance style and was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Leonardi. Its design was considered a pioneer of its time in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as it was one of the few buildings constructed of steel. In July 1872, both the palace and the park were inaugurated and the exposition took place soon after. After the exposition, the palace was home to the Society of Fine Arts. During 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 ...

the building was looted. After the looting it was used as a hospital and later a garrison for 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 ...

. In 1889, the Peruvian government ceded the building to the Municipality of Lima. In 1905, the building became home to the National Museum of History and the Ministry of Public Works. Later, throughout different time periods, it was used by the Chamber of Deputies, the Direction of Traffic, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Municipality of Lima.

Art Museum of Lima

In 1954, the Municipality of Lima ceded the building to the Patrons of the Arts civil association for refactioning and remodeling to convert it into an art museum. The Lima Art Museum () opened in 1957 while its official inauguration took place in 1961.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palacio de la Exposicion Art museums and galleries in Peru Event venues established in 1872 Museums in Lima Neoclassical architecture in Peru Palaces in Peru World's fair architecture in South America Park of the Exhibition 1872 establishments in Peru