The 10 most impressive museums in Lima

alexandrasturmayr
Dec 12, 2019
4 min read

We can consider that all of Peru is an open-air museum. This country is very rich in ancient history and culture, that is, all the archeology found and preserved there is an interesting collection to appreciate.

Peruvian museums are also excellent places to learn more about such cultures, precious material to investigate to understand some of the roots of South America.

In the capital of Peru, the most sought-after tourist attractions for history lovers are museums, where interesting collections of well-preserved pre-Columbian cultures are presented. Art lovers can also delight in the galleries of Lima, admiring several Peruvian artistic movements.

Do you want to have a very cultural script in Lima? Visit the numerous galleries and museums on a fascinating Peruvian cultural historical tour. In this article, we will list 9 impressive museums of Lima to visit when you are there:

1.- Larco Museum

This is one of the most important museums in Peru, founded by researcher Rafael Larco, an archeology student who has gathered a rich collection of the history of his country. The entire museum portrays the history of the Peruvian territory between the years 8000 a. C. and 1532 d. C., that is, the entire period prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.

The museum's collection has around 45,000 rare works and pieces exhibited chronologically, faithfully telling the history of Peru. In the exhibition you can see textile, ceramic and metal archeological items. It also has many jewels, war artifacts and tools.

Lima is the destination that should not be missed on your itinerary. Viajes Machu Picchu has packages for sale for Peru and Machu Picchu.

2.- Lima Art Museum - MALI

The MALI building alone is already an imposing Neo-Renaissance work of art. The purpose of this museum is to merge the works exhibited there, in separate rooms of archaeological articles and contemporary arts.

There is space for permanent exhibitions, which include artifacts in silver, gold, ceramics, wood and textiles from pre-Columbian arts until the 20th century. In addition, modern and contemporary works in photographs and paintings in customs, which in general are temporary exhibitions. .

3.- Pedro de Osma Museum

This museum preserves objects of the Peruvian Viceroyalty, which took place between the 16th and 18th centuries, which are part of the private collection of the Peruvian politician Pedro de Osma Gildemeister. There are sculptures, altarpieces, paintings, stone carvings and silverware of the Andean traditions of Cusco and Ayacucho. There is also another quite rich but differentiated collection of Catholic origin in paintings and sculptures.

4.- Mario Testino Museum - MATE

This is a young museum, opened in 2012 by the famous photographer Mario Testino, with the aim of being non-profit and totally dedicated to contemporary arts. Mario Testino has already photographed for the famous covers of GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines; and they had big names like Madonna and members of the English royal family in front of their cameras. Even our model Gisele Bundchen. In addition to Testino's own photographs, there are exhibitions of Peruvian contemporary art and traveling exhibitions of various artists from around the world.

5.- National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru.

Considered the oldest museum in Lima, it is also called the National Museum that preserves more than 300,000 pieces of pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru. They are warlike, funerary, religious and decorative objects, as well as mummies, stone sculptures, clothes, furniture and artifacts from the Inca era. There is also extensive documentation related to José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar that is part, not only of the history of Peru, but also of South America.

6.- Museum of the Central Bank of the Peruvian Reserve

It is a museum with very diverse collections of the history of Peruvian arts. In its collection it contains archaeological pieces of pre-Inca and Inca civilizations, with articles in metal, jewelry, ceramics, fabrics and sculptures made in stone, where scenes of everyday life, characters, symbolism and beliefs of past eras were marked. This museum also houses paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, with scenes, portraits and landscapes in abstract and even contemporary compositions by Peruvian artists.

7.- Peruvian Gold Museum

The gold and silver collector Gabriel Mujica Gallo has assembled a vast collection of ancient Andean cultures, mainly Incas. In this museum there are pieces of Inca antiquity such as ceramic vases, trays and silver utensils, tools, funeral masks and weapons. In another section there are several weapons such as rifles, swords and carbines from the period of Spanish domination.

8.- Amano Museum

Este museo fue creado por un partidario de la cultura peruana, el empresario japonés Yoshitaro Amano, de ahí el nombre del espacio que alberga principalmente exposiciones de artículos textiles, hay más de 460 piezas, separadas en cuatro salas en orden cronológico.

Así, el viaje comienza con las primeras civilizaciones de la historia peruana, como las culturas Chavín, Paracas, Nazca , Mochica, Lambayeque, Chancay, Chimú, Huari, Chuquibamba e Inca, que muestran cómo era el proceso textil de cada uno. Pasa por las edades de la creación de herramientas que ayudaron a hacer prendas y tapices, desde el hilado, el teñido y la selección de fibra.

9.- Museo del Automóvil Colección Nicolini

This is the only automobile museum in Peru where old and classic vehicles with models manufactured between 1901 and 1992 are exhibited. In this space, old cars are welcome for restoration and exhibition in the museum. There you can find Chevrolet, Ford, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce, among others, in addition to the exhibition of two rare cars, one of the Stutz brand, from 1928; and another from 1915, from Wanderer.

It may interest you: