{{Short description|Former prison building in Lima, Peru}} {{Infobox building | name = Lima Penitentiary | native_name = Penitenciaría de Lima | native_name_lang = es | alternate_names = | status = Demolished | image = Penitenciaria de Lima - 1875.jpg | caption = The building in 1875 | location = [[Lima]], Peru | inauguration_date = 23 July 1862 | construction_start_date = 31 January 1856 | construction_stop_date = 1860 | closing_date = June 1961 | demolished_date = August 1961 | owner = [[Government of Peru]] | architect = Michele Trefogli<br>Maximiliano Mimey }} The '''Lima Penitentiary''' ({{langx|es|Penitenciaría de Lima}}), also known simply as '''''El Panóptico''''', was a prison building that existed in [[Lima]], Peru. It had a [[panopticon]] layout and was designed by Michele Trefogli and Maximiliano Mimey.
==History== The penitentiary was built between 1856 and 1860, by order of President [[Ramón Castilla]] due to the lack of a prison system in the country. It was inaugurated in 1862.<ref name=ec>{{Cite news |title=¿Sabía cómo fue el cierre de la cárcel más antigua del Perú? |url=https://elcomercio.pe/archivo-elcomercio/estoyalerta-panoptico-lima-noticia/ |last=Batalla |first=Carlos |date=2019-10-27 |work=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]}}</ref> After a study carried out by Mariano Paz Soldán, the construction of the building was arranged by architects Michele Trefogli and Maximiliano Mimey.<ref name=arq>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arqandina.com/pages/p1/f108.htm |title=La penitenciaría de Lima |website=Arqandina, El Portal Peruano de Arquitectura}}</ref> It was located south of the city, near the Guadalupe Gate of the [[Walls of Lima]].
The front of the building reflected a severe architectural style, showing its reclusive purpose and trying to project an impregnable image, while the layout of the rooms inside included areas where prisoners worked during the day and cells where they were confined in the nights.<ref name=arq/>
The building existed for more than 100 years and characters such as President [[Augusto B. Leguía]] were imprisoned there, confined there after the [[1930 Peruvian coup d'état|coup that removed him from power]], although he did not die in prison but in the Bellavista Naval Hospital.
There were several workshops in the penitentiary which produced a number of commodities using prison labor. Carpentry, shoemaking, baking, printing, bear law, and bookbinding were among the trades practiced. In 1934, [[Carlos E. Carrillo Velasquez]] was the General Administrator in charge of the workshops.
The prison operated until June 1961, later being demolished in August. Before its demolition, all inmates were moved out to [[El Frontón]] prison.<ref>{{Cite news |title=La impresionante mudanza y demolición de la Penitenciaría de Lima a inicios de los años 60 |url=https://elcomercio.pe/archivo-elcomercio/la-impresionante-mudanza-y-demolicion-de-la-penitenciaria-de-lima-a-inicios-de-los-anos-60-noticia/ |last=Batalla |first=Carlos |date=2020-04-28 |work=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]}}</ref> In its place are currently the [[Lima Civic Center]] and the [[Sheraton Lima Hotel & Convention Center]], which were built during the government of [[Juan Velasco Alvarado]].<ref name=ec/>
===Cristo del Penal=== During the prison's slow demolition process, an image of [[Jesus Christ]] on [[Calvary|Mount Golgotha]] was discovered painted on a wall of a prison cell in June 1964, becoming a point of attraction for local neighbours and other visitors from the city.<ref>{{Cite news |title=La historia del Cristo que no quiso irse del viejo panóptico de Lima: el mural carcelario que despertó un gran debate hace 57 años |url=https://elcomercio.pe/archivo-elcomercio/la-historia-del-cristo-que-no-quiso-irse-del-viejo-panoptico-de-lima-el-mural-que-desperto-un-gran-debate-hace-57-anos-historia-del-muro-de-cristo-panoptico-de-lima-hotel-sheraton-centro-civico-real-plaza-fernando-belaunde-el-sexto-nnsp-noticia/ |last=Batalla |first=Carlos |date=2021-09-10 |work=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]}}</ref> The image's planned demolition became controversial: despite being supported by the [[Catholic Church in Peru]], it was opposed by the crowds that surrounded the image, and on the date where the demolition was to take place, the crane operator claimed that a strange feeling overcame him and was unable to carry out the act. The image was eventually moved to [[San Juan de Lurigancho]], with the process beginning on September 23, 1964, and forgotten for a period until became the centre of attention again. This time, the Peruvian press was able to locate its author, Rubén Darío Muñiz Calvo, by that point in [[Iquitos]], who stated that he had simply reproduced a stamp gifted to him by the prison's chaplain. The image is reportedly visited by hundreds of devotees in its new location.<ref>{{Cite news |title=El Cristo del Penal: La imagen que casi le hace la competencia al ‘Señor de los Milagros’ |url=https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/11/06/el-cristo-del-penal-la-imagen-que-casi-le-hace-la-competencia-al-senor-de-los-milagros/ |last=Obando |first=Manoel |date=2022-11-06 |work=[[Infobae]]}}</ref>
==Notable inmates== * [[Augusto B. Leguía]], President of Peru * [[Ciro Alegría]], journalist * [[Delfín Lévano]], anarchist * Dr. Fredrick Wilson, researcher * [[Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre]], politician * {{ill|Jorge Villanueva Torres|es}}, a man convicted and controversially executed in 1957 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a young boy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Se cumplieron 60 años de la ejecución del 'Monstruo de Armendáriz' |url=https://peru21.pe/lima/jorge-villanueva-torres-hoy-cumplen-60-anos-ejecucion-monstruo-armendariz-388086-noticia/ |date=2017-12-13 |work=[[Perú 21]]}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Lima Civic Center]] *[[Sheraton Lima Historic Center]] * Larkin Expedition
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Lima landmarks}}
[[Category:Defunct prisons in Peru]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Lima]] [[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Peru]] [[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1961]] [[Category:Lima District]]