Palacio de López, Presidential palace in Asunción, Paraguay
Palacio de López is the seat of Paraguay's presidency in Asunción, a long symmetrical white neoclassical building on Paraguayo Independiente Street facing Asunción Bay. A square tower with a flagpole and two corner pinnacles rises above a pedimented portico of white columns; arched openings line the ground floor, rectangular windows the upper level.
Carlos Antonio López ordered the palace for his son Francisco Solano López, and work began in 1857 under the English architect Alonso Taylor. The War of the Triple Alliance left it unfinished: Solano López never lived there, and Brazilian troops occupied it for seven years. Juan Bautista Egusquiza completed the building in 1894 and made it the seat of government.
The palace's name comes from the López family: Carlos Antonio López ordered it for his son Francisco Solano López, who never lived there. Since 1894 it has housed the national government, and Alfredo Stroessner ruled from it for over 35 years. Its white facade is lit at night and seen from the Asunción waterfront.
Interior access requires advance approval through official channels and is not freely available to casual visitors. The exterior and riverfront views can be photographed from public areas around the grounds.
The stone allegorical statues of Liberty, Justice and Religion that once crowned the front roofline are now gone; the two stone lions above the main entrance were carved under the direction of English engineer John Owen Moynihan. The marble staircase to the upper floor was designed by Italian Andrés Antonini.
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