Description of the attraction
Palacio de Goyenes is one of the most famous buildings in Arequipa and is located at the intersection of La Merced street and Old Palace street.
The history of the Goyenes Palace dates back to 1558, when the owner of this land, Martin de Almazan, decided to build here a one-story house with a courtyard and two arches. In 1582 and 1600, the city of Arequipa was hit by strong earthquakes, after which Andres Herrera y Castilla, the owner of this building, hired the master mason Gaspar Baez to restore the destroyed house. The master built a practically new house on this site in 1602. In 1734, the mansion built by Gaspar Baez was slightly modified and expanded. However, this house, bought for his family by one of the largest landowners in Arequipa, Juan Cristomo de Goyenes y Aguerrevere, was badly damaged by a new earthquake in 1782.
Later, this building passed to one of his four sons - José Sebastian, Bishop of Arequipa and Archbishop of Lima, who commissioned the famous architect Lucas Poblete to restore the family mansion in 1837. In 1840, the restoration of the family mansion was completed.
Bishop Goyenes lived in this house until 1859, when he became Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru. During this time, the mansion became one of the most important residences in the city. The bishop's family home is decorated with dozens of paintings, two of which are by Goya. It also houses an excellent collection of antique furniture, one of the first private libraries in the city of Arikipa and one of the most important documentary archives of Latin America during the Liberation.
It is a two-story building with courtyards, columns on the front of the building and an entrance to the lobby "the height required for a French knight in armor with a spear in an upright position." On its roof there is a balcony with wrought iron railings and panoramic views, which can be reached by a beautiful spiral staircase built of hewn stone. This staircase also leads to the second floor of the building, where there is a balcony, doors and windows in the style of the colonial era. The main courtyard of the mansion has an excellent stone fountain.
The building consists of large spacious rooms with vaults, on the walls of which you can see artistic paintings of the Cusco school of the colonial era; the windows of the building are protected by wrought iron gratings with amazing ornaments.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Goyenes Palace was transferred to the use of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, which carried out a complete reconstruction of the building in 1970. This decision ensured the preservation of the famous house, which is part of the historical heritage of Arequipa. In 2000, the Goyenes Palace was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
