Casa Museo Gran Almirante Grau, Naval history museum in central Piura, Peru.
Casa Museo Gran Almirante Grau occupies the house at Jr. Tacna 662 where Miguel Grau Seminario was born on 27 July 1834. The building lost its second floor in the 1912 earthquake and now holds seven permanent rooms, two temporary rooms and two interior courtyards. Its collection includes period furniture, four 19th-century Seminario family portraits, a model of the monitor Huáscar and a replica of Grau's congressional seat for Paita.
Miguel Grau Seminario was born in this house on 27 July 1834; it had belonged to his maternal grandfather, Fernando Torcuato Seminario y Jayme, and passed to his widow Joaquina del Castillo and daughters Mariana and Luisa. A 1912 earthquake destroyed the second floor. The Peruvian Navy restored the building, and it opened as a museum on 27 July 1964, after being declared a National Historic Monument by Law No. 10146 on 26 December 1944.
The residence displays French porcelain and English tableware from the 1800s that reflect how the family lived and entertained. These items reveal the international tastes and social standing of the household during that era.
The museum sits in central Piura and is within walking distance if you are in the downtown area. The rooms span multiple levels, so allow enough time for a comfortable visit at your own pace.
In a prominent spot in the house is the original sabre of Miguel Gerónimo Seminario y Jayme, used when Piura's independence was declared at the San Francisco church on 4 January 1821. It is a separate relic from Grau's own memorabilia, tied to his great-uncle.
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