Government Palace, Peru

Government Palace
House of Pizarro
Map
General information
Architectural styleNeobaroque
Town or cityLima
CountryPeru
Construction started1535 (first construction)
24 August 1937 (latest renovation)
ClientGovernment of Peru
Design and construction
Architect(s)Most recent renovations: Claude Antoine Sahut Laurent (France); Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski (Poland)

The Government Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Gobierno), also known as the House of Pizarro, is the seat of the executive branch of the Peruvian government, and the official residence of the president of Peru.[1] The palace is a stately government building, occupying the northern side of the Plaza Mayor in Peru's capital city, Lima. Set on the Rímac River, the palace occupies the site of a very large huaca ("revered object") that incorporated a shrine to Taulichusco, the last kuraka (indigenous governor) of Lima.

The first Government Palace was built by Francisco Pizarro, governor of New Castile, in 1535. When the Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1542, it became the viceroy's residence and seat of government as the Viceregal Palace (Spanish: Palacio Virreinal; Palacio de los Virreyes), also known as the Casas Reales.[2] The most recent alterations to the building were completed in the 1930s, under the direction of President Oscar R. Benavides during his second term of office. The chief architects were Claude Antoine Sahut Laurent and Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski.

A number of ceremonial guard units of the Peruvian Armed Forces are stationed at the palace, and participate in the daily Changing of the Guard ceremony and other official duties.

  1. ^ "Government Palace".
  2. ^ Bromley Seminario, Juan (2019). Las viejas calles de Lima (PDF) (in Spanish). Lima: Metropolitan Municipality of Lima. p. 248. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2024.