In 1535 a small group of Spanish Conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro founded the city of Lima, Peru which was the first step in the conquest of the Inca Empire by the Spanish, at Pizarro's right hand was Captain Jeronimo del Aliaga. Aliaga and Pizarro had been brothers in arms through numerous campaigns in the New World, so when Francisco Pizarro laid out the new city of Lima in 1535 he placed the new Viceroy's Palace in the center and gave the plot of land on the immediate right to his right hand man, Jeronimo del Aliaga.
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Jeronimo del Aliaga built a house on the foundations of the Inca temple located in the center of his plot of land and his descendents have resided uninterrupted in the Casa Del Aliaga for the past 16 generations.
[attachment 190824 IMG_4021.JPG]
Today we went to the old Viceroy's Palace which is now the seat of the Peruvian Government and called the Palacio de Gobernerio, in order to see the changing of the guard. An interesting military display complete with marching band and armed soldiers plus a group of Policia Nacional armed with sub-machineguns and a watercannon truck. All very interesting but what I really wanted to see was Casa Del Aliaga.
There used to be tours of this ancient mansion but I was unable to find current information on how to tour this house that is one of the oldest houses in the New World. Dating back to 1535, just 43 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue for the first time, Casa Del Aliaga is a real gem of history and it is said that the Sword of Jeronimo del Aliaga is kept in a case, inside the Casa.
How often do you get a chance to see a sword made from toledo steel, that is not only almost 500 years old but also the personal sword of one of the men who conquered the New World? The search was on.
After the changing of the guard at the Palacio de Gobernerio was over, the Princess and I headed off in search of Casa del Aliaga. I knew it was to the right of the palace, so how hard could it be to find it? Down the street on the right hand side of the palace we wandered waiting for Casa del Aliaga to jump out at us but all we saw were souvenir shops, so I ducked through a covered laneway and came out on a street with nothing but a big, old church covering the whole black so we had to circle back. Another pass up and down the street left us no closer to the goal, queries of passersby where met with blank looks and a bit of unintelligible spanish.
Standing mid-block with my back against the palace wall I scanned the wall of buildings in front of me and asked myself where I would give land to my best friend and comrade in arms if I were the Viceroy of Peru? Right in the middle of the block I reasoned and there it was, a very old and very large oak door that you could drive a carriage through with a mandoor cut into one panel. Unfortunately for me there was nothing to indicate there was anything special behind the door except for the two policia armed with submachineguns.
[attachment 190825 IMG_4041.JPG]
I couldn't quit now so I walked up to the older of the two guards in a very nonthreatening way and asked very politely if this was Casa del Aliagra. The other guard started coming my way but the older guard waved him off and said something very fast to me in spanish and then motioned towards an intercom panel hidden to one side of the mandoor. So I edged over to the intercom and pushed the button that I guess was recepcion or at least something similar. After waiting a very long minute, a voice asked me in spanish what I wanted, I very politely asked if it was possible to have a tour of the casa, the voice said 'wait' and then it went silent for another couple of minutes, during which the young guard eyed me warily.
Suddenly the mandoor opened and I was very relieved to have a rather portly. older gentlemen wave me into the casa, Susan followed on my heels and we were suddenly in a colonial time warp. The oak door was 2 inches thick and as soon as it closed all the heat and noise of the street was left behind; everything was quiet and coolness, a huge mahoghany staircase stretched in front of us. The portly man said that they don't give tours anymore but for 30 soles each (about $10) it would be possible for him to show us around personally. What a deal! (the last info I had found said that the tours were $50/person)
There was one small problem though - No Pictures! Still, I wasn't going to give up a chance to see the Sword of one of the greatest conquistadors that ever lived. Money changed hands and we were on our way.
[attachment 190826 IMG_4037.JPG][attachment 190834 IMG_4035.JPG]
Up the huge stairs and down a hallway into the drawing room, hand carved mahoghany ceilings put together in relief like a giant puzzle, antiques everywhere from the 1600's onwards, it was awe inspiring. From there we went to the chapel which is the oldest private chapel in South America, beautiful marble altar and baptismal font. From there we went to the central atrium which is dominated by a 300 year old fountain and a ficus tree of the same vintage and I was able to surreptitiously get a couple of pics.
We continued to wander through the mansion but still no sign of the sword, I was starting to think it was just a story but as we came to the last room there was a huge oil painting of the man himself Jeronimo del Aliaga. The portrait artist had thoughtfully replaced the eye that Jeronimo had lost to an indian arrow and softened the features of a man that had clearly been to hell and back, several times. The best part is that in a carved wooden case with a glass front to the right of the portrait was The Sword!
There was no way I was going to get a pic of the sword across the large room without permission (nobody is that good) so I put on my best pirate smile and I flattered the hell out of the guy, then I asked for a pic. He looked around, smiled and dropped the rope barrier between the sword and myself, I didn't need any more invitation than that. I was in and out in 20 seconds flat.
[attachment 190827 IMG_4039.JPG]
The tour was now over so I thanked the kind gentlemen and he opened the heavy door for us to leave, the heat and the noise of the street spilled into this ancient sanctuary as we stepped back into the modern world.
Magical,
BDA
[attachment 190828 IMG_3847.JPG]
Jeronimo del Aliaga built a house on the foundations of the Inca temple located in the center of his plot of land and his descendents have resided uninterrupted in the Casa Del Aliaga for the past 16 generations.
[attachment 190824 IMG_4021.JPG]
Today we went to the old Viceroy's Palace which is now the seat of the Peruvian Government and called the Palacio de Gobernerio, in order to see the changing of the guard. An interesting military display complete with marching band and armed soldiers plus a group of Policia Nacional armed with sub-machineguns and a watercannon truck. All very interesting but what I really wanted to see was Casa Del Aliaga.
There used to be tours of this ancient mansion but I was unable to find current information on how to tour this house that is one of the oldest houses in the New World. Dating back to 1535, just 43 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue for the first time, Casa Del Aliaga is a real gem of history and it is said that the Sword of Jeronimo del Aliaga is kept in a case, inside the Casa.
How often do you get a chance to see a sword made from toledo steel, that is not only almost 500 years old but also the personal sword of one of the men who conquered the New World? The search was on.
After the changing of the guard at the Palacio de Gobernerio was over, the Princess and I headed off in search of Casa del Aliaga. I knew it was to the right of the palace, so how hard could it be to find it? Down the street on the right hand side of the palace we wandered waiting for Casa del Aliaga to jump out at us but all we saw were souvenir shops, so I ducked through a covered laneway and came out on a street with nothing but a big, old church covering the whole black so we had to circle back. Another pass up and down the street left us no closer to the goal, queries of passersby where met with blank looks and a bit of unintelligible spanish.
Standing mid-block with my back against the palace wall I scanned the wall of buildings in front of me and asked myself where I would give land to my best friend and comrade in arms if I were the Viceroy of Peru? Right in the middle of the block I reasoned and there it was, a very old and very large oak door that you could drive a carriage through with a mandoor cut into one panel. Unfortunately for me there was nothing to indicate there was anything special behind the door except for the two policia armed with submachineguns.
[attachment 190825 IMG_4041.JPG]
I couldn't quit now so I walked up to the older of the two guards in a very nonthreatening way and asked very politely if this was Casa del Aliagra. The other guard started coming my way but the older guard waved him off and said something very fast to me in spanish and then motioned towards an intercom panel hidden to one side of the mandoor. So I edged over to the intercom and pushed the button that I guess was recepcion or at least something similar. After waiting a very long minute, a voice asked me in spanish what I wanted, I very politely asked if it was possible to have a tour of the casa, the voice said 'wait' and then it went silent for another couple of minutes, during which the young guard eyed me warily.
Suddenly the mandoor opened and I was very relieved to have a rather portly. older gentlemen wave me into the casa, Susan followed on my heels and we were suddenly in a colonial time warp. The oak door was 2 inches thick and as soon as it closed all the heat and noise of the street was left behind; everything was quiet and coolness, a huge mahoghany staircase stretched in front of us. The portly man said that they don't give tours anymore but for 30 soles each (about $10) it would be possible for him to show us around personally. What a deal! (the last info I had found said that the tours were $50/person)
There was one small problem though - No Pictures! Still, I wasn't going to give up a chance to see the Sword of one of the greatest conquistadors that ever lived. Money changed hands and we were on our way.
[attachment 190826 IMG_4037.JPG][attachment 190834 IMG_4035.JPG]
Up the huge stairs and down a hallway into the drawing room, hand carved mahoghany ceilings put together in relief like a giant puzzle, antiques everywhere from the 1600's onwards, it was awe inspiring. From there we went to the chapel which is the oldest private chapel in South America, beautiful marble altar and baptismal font. From there we went to the central atrium which is dominated by a 300 year old fountain and a ficus tree of the same vintage and I was able to surreptitiously get a couple of pics.
We continued to wander through the mansion but still no sign of the sword, I was starting to think it was just a story but as we came to the last room there was a huge oil painting of the man himself Jeronimo del Aliaga. The portrait artist had thoughtfully replaced the eye that Jeronimo had lost to an indian arrow and softened the features of a man that had clearly been to hell and back, several times. The best part is that in a carved wooden case with a glass front to the right of the portrait was The Sword!
There was no way I was going to get a pic of the sword across the large room without permission (nobody is that good) so I put on my best pirate smile and I flattered the hell out of the guy, then I asked for a pic. He looked around, smiled and dropped the rope barrier between the sword and myself, I didn't need any more invitation than that. I was in and out in 20 seconds flat.
[attachment 190827 IMG_4039.JPG]
The tour was now over so I thanked the kind gentlemen and he opened the heavy door for us to leave, the heat and the noise of the street spilled into this ancient sanctuary as we stepped back into the modern world.
Magical,
BDA
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