Palacio Baburizza, Art museum in Cerro Alegre, Valparaíso, Chile

Palacio Baburizza is an art museum housed in an early 20th-century mansion with European architectural styles, featuring a central turret, intricate woodwork, and ornamental details throughout. The building displays artworks dating from 1800 to 1990 arranged within its original rooms.

The mansion was built in 1916 for the Zanelli family and purchased in 1925 by Croatian businessman Pascual Baburizza, who filled it with artworks. It became a municipal museum in 1971, shifting from a private residence to a public institution.

The residence reflects how prosperous European families displayed their collections and international lifestyle throughout its rooms, revealing their ties to the old continent. The spaces still convey the taste and social values of Valparaiso's upper class during the early 1900s.

The museum occupies the former Zanelli and Baburizza mansions on Cerro Alegre, reached by steep streets and stairways. The two houses are linked by a ground-floor courtyard and a glazed bridge on the second level. The old Montealegre street entrance is no longer in use, so visitors should allow time for the climb and wear sturdy shoes.

The dining room fireplace is carved from veined marble, framed by a large French Gobelins tapestry with a hunting scene that Baburizza ordered when he added the room on the former terrace. The palace also appeared on The Amazing Race 16 and its Norwegian and Israeli editions.