Legislative Palace of Peru, Government building in Lima, Peru
The Legislative Palace is a Beaux-Arts government building on Ayacucho Street facing Plaza Bolívar. Its white stone facade has rusticated arched openings below Ionic columns, and a central arched entrance under a relief of a draped figure, with a balcony and a panel inscribed "CONGRESO" above. A balustrade runs along the roofline, and a red and white flag flies from the central raised section.
The site held the San Juan de la Penitencia home (1550) and later the University of San Marcos from 1577. Congress first met there on 20 September 1822, and the Senate from 1829. After resolutions in 1869 and 1873 stalled, French architect Emilio Robert won a 1906 competition; the Chamber of Deputies hemicycle opened in 1908. Polish architect Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski resumed work under Óscar R. Benavides, and the Senate was installed on 30 November 1939.
The Congress hemicycle, first built for the Chamber of Deputies, has a front wall dominated by a six-metre-wide, five-metre-high sculpture by Peruvian artist Luis Agurto Olaya. It shows José de San Martín climbing onto the platform to proclaim independence, unveiled on 28 July 1917. High reliefs with the intertwined letters RP and the inscription "CONGRESO DE LA REPUBLICA DEL PERU" flank the wall.
The palace occupies the second block of Jirón Ayacucho, facing Plaza Bolívar, with the public Plaza José Faustino Sánchez Carrión behind it. It is a working seat of Congress, not a museum open for tours, so entry is limited to official business or arranged visits. The 2007 earthquake closed the third floor, so some upper offices remain out of use.
The session hall's front wall carries a six-metre-wide relief by Luis Agurto Olaya showing José de San Martín proclaiming independence, unveiled on 28 July 1917 while Juan Pardo Ibarreda presided over the Chamber of Deputies.
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