National Museum of Peru

{{Infobox museum | name = National Museum of Peru (MUNA) | native_name = Museo Nacional del Perú (MUNA) | native_name_lang = | logo = National Museum of Peru logo.png | logo_upright = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | logo_size = 200 | image = File:Frontis del Museo Nacional del Perú (MUNA).jpg | image_size = 250 | image_upright = | caption = Main façade of the museum. | alt = | map_type = | map_caption = | map_size = | map_relief = | map_dot_label = | former_name =  | established =  | dissolved =  | location = [[Lurín District]], [[Lima, Peru]] | coordinates = | type = [[National museum]] | accreditation = | key_holdings = | collections = | collection_size = 500,000 | visitors = | founder = | executive_director = | director = | president = | ceo = | chairperson = | curator = | architect = | historian = | owner = [[Government of Peru]] | employees = | public_transit = | parking =  | website = {{URL|https://museos.cultura.pe/museos/museo-nacional-del-perú-muna|museos.cultura.pe/museos/museo-nacional-del-perú-muna}} | network = | embedded =  | leader_type = | leader = }}

The '''National Museum of Peru''' is a [[national museum]] in [[Lurín District]], [[Lima, Peru]], located within the archaeological zone of [[Pachacamac]]. The museum will hold over a half million artifacts of the [[Pre-Columbian era]] and [[Inca Empire]], ranging back to 5,000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-12-28|title=Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Perú se culminará a mediados del 2019 {{!}} LIMA|url=https://elcomercio.pe/lima/obras/museo-nacional-arqueologia-peru-culminara-mediados-2019-noticia-592303-noticia/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]|language=es}}</ref> It opened in July 2021 as part of Peru's bicentennial celebrations and is capable of accepting 15,000 guests per day.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Presentan proyecto ganador de concurso de ideas para futuro Museo Nacional|url=https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-presentan-proyecto-ganador-concurso-ideas-para-futuro-museo-nacional-516008.aspx|access-date=2020-11-24|website=[[Andina (news agency)|Andina]]|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Presidente Vizcarra anuncia compromiso del gobierno de entregar nuevo Museo Nacional del Perú|url=https://www.gob.pe/institucion/cultura/noticias/49207-presidente-vizcarra-anuncia-compromiso-del-gobierno-de-entregar-nuevo-museo-nacional-del-peru|access-date=2020-11-24|website=www.gob.pe|language=es}}</ref>

== History == === Planning and construction === [[File:Infraestuctura del MUNA.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The design of the museum promotes accessibility through ramps.]] Ideas for a [[national museum]] were first proposed by [[José de San Martín]] in 1822 when he proposed a national museum, library and archive to be constructed during the [[Peruvian War of Independence]].<ref name=ARTnews>{{cite news |last1=Angeleti |first1=Gabriella |title=Peru’s heritage gets a new $125m home |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/09/13/perus-heritage-gets-a-new-dollar125m-home |access-date=29 September 2021 |work=[[The Art Newspaper]] |date=13 September 2021}}</ref> The idea was promoted again nearly two centuries later by Minister of Culture Diana Álvarez Calderón during the administration of President [[Ollanta Humala]] in 2013.<ref name="EC1">{{cite news|date=22 December 2013|title=Diana Álvarez Calderón: entre ruinas y cultura viva {{!}} LUCES|language=es|work=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]|url=https://elcomercio.pe/luces/arte/diana-alvarez-calderon-entre-ruinas-cultura-viva-noticia-1676698/?ref=ecr|access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref> Humala had initial plans for a museum in [[Peruvian Amazonia]], though Álvarez Calderón urged him to dedicate a national museum to Peru first, with ideas of creating a National Museum of Peru.<ref name="EC1" />

In May 2014, bidding for the project's design was announced.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 May 2014 |title=Abrirán convocatoria para diseñar el Museo Nacional del Perú» |url=http://elcomercio.pe/lima/patrimonio/lanzaran-convocatoria-disenar-museo-nacional-peru-noticia-1732882 |website=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]}}</ref> The location was debated as the museum's site was not located in central Lima, instead being placed in the [[Pachacamac]] archaeological zone, a location that was sacred for pre-Colombian cultures.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Poppe |first=Macarena |date=2023-06-05 |title=The empty museum: Museo Nacional del Perú in Lima, Peru by Leon Marcial Arquitectos |url=https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/the-empty-museum-museo-nacional-del-peru-in-lima-peru-by-leon-marcial-arquitectos |access-date=2026-03-26 |website=[[The Architectural Review]] |language=en}}</ref> The proposed site led to controversy, with some intellectuals and officials excluding themselves from the project.<ref name=":2" /> Supporters said that the location provided the most publicly-owned space available for a museum and approved the symbolism of the Pachacamac site continuing to be a location bringing cultures together.<ref name=":2" />

Architect Alexia León Ángel won the competition<ref name=":0" /> and described the design as an [[infrastructure]] project, providing an open canvas blueprint that would bridge the various cultural artifacts from Peru's history, stating "the architecture recognises that culture is in the process of ongoing construction".<ref name=":2" /> The plan involved filling the new museum with pieces from the [[Museo de la Nación]] – the former Ministry of Fisheries headquarters from 1970 – and the [[National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru]], which was outdated and did not have proper equipment to maintain the temperature and lighting of displays.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=24 July 2014|title=Museo Nacional del Perú ya cuenta con diseño arquitectónico|work=La Republica|url=http://www.larepublica.pe/24-07-2014/museo-nacional-del-peru-ya-cuenta-con-diseno-arquitectonico|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214155739/http://www.larepublica.pe/24-07-2014/museo-nacional-del-peru-ya-cuenta-con-diseno-arquitectonico|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref> The process for safely transferring the items from other sites to the museum was anticipated to take about twenty years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-09-18|title=MUNA, un museo emblema para celebrar el bicentenario {{!}} FOTOS {{!}} LUCES|url=https://elcomercio.pe/luces/arte/museo-nacional-arqueologia-antropologia-e-historia-asegurar-nuestro-pasado-ecpm-noticia-676843-noticia/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]|language=es}}</ref> Another area for more contemporary objects was also planned to fill the {{Convert|70000|m2|ft2|abbr=}} of space.<ref name=":1" /> By late-2017, planned areas for recreation and administration were removed to lower costs, with the seven-story museum's area being set at {{Convert|65000|m2|ft2|abbr=}}.<ref name="ARTnews" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-08-10|title=Lurín: construcción del Museo Nacional del Perú registra un 22% de avance {{!}} LIMA|url=https://elcomercio.pe/lima/obras/construccion-museo-nacional-peru-registra-22-avance-noticia-449094-noticia/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=[[El Comercio (Peru)|El Comercio]]|language=es}}</ref>

Describing the museum's preservation design, ''[[Architectural Review]]'' wrote:<ref name=":2" />

{{Blockquote|text=This project is an open network, future-proofed structurally, programatically and technically. The design separates the different lives of its systems, considering the unstable climatic future. The structure is designed to last a minimum of 500 years that could well be 2000, (a short time in relation to the pre-Colombian objects it aims to protect) and is spatially independent from the mechanical installations which are thought to last 30-50 years and adapt to the changing conditions and technology. It is a tsunami-proofed response that critically addresses the responsibilities of a new building.}}

About 70% of MUNA is located under the ground level.<ref name=":2" /> A cement structure designed to have a cross-like appearance of [[chakana]] from above, a central [[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]] features surrounding ramps that spiral up to floors that feature exhibits on the periphery.<ref name=":2" /> The construction cost of the museum was about 500 million [[Peruvian sol|Peruvian soles]], or about $125 million USD, the equivalent of ${{inflation|US|125|2021|2024|r=0|fmt=c}} million in 2024.<ref name="ARTnews" /><ref name=":3" />

=== Operation ===

During the government of [[Francisco Sagasti]], the Ministry of Culture announced in November 2020 that the museum was destined to open in July 2021 for the celebration of Peru's two-hundredth anniversary of independence.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-24|title=Lurín: Museo Nacional del Perú será inaugurado en julio del 2021 {{!}} nnpp {{!}} LIMA|url=https://peru21.pe/lima/lurin-museo-nacional-del-peru-sera-inaugurado-en-julio-del-2021-nnpp-noticia/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=[[Peru21]]|language=es}}</ref> In late July 2021, MUNA opened to the public with a limited display in four galleries.<ref name="ARTnews" /> One gallery featured information about the museum's background and construction while another highlighted how Peru's antiquities and culture were exploited by illicit trade.<ref name="ARTnews" />

==== Suspension of operations ==== In 2021, MUNA was expected to be fully operational by 2024.<ref name="ARTnews" /> By 2023, the ''[[Architectural Review]]'' reported that the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Peru]] and a [[Peruvian political crisis (2016–present)|political crisis]] that saw revolving presidencies and culture ministers resulted with institutional abandonment of the museum and exhibits still remaining empty in MUNA.<ref name=":2" /> Infrastructure challenges including poor road access, ceiling leaks, the lack of a [[groundwater]] pumping system and a malfunctioning [[climate control]] system also proved to make operation of MUNA difficult.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Grimaldi |first=Luis |date=2026-03-07 |title=El museo más grande del Perú lleva más de un año cerrado, pese a inversión de S/ 500 millones |url=https://larepublica.pe/sociedad/2026/03/02/el-museo-mas-grande-del-peru-lleva-mas-de-un-ano-cerrado-pese-a-inversion-de-s-500-millones-atmp-164940 |access-date=2026-03-26 |website=[[La República]] |language=es}}</ref>

On 14 December 2024, the Ministry of Culture announced the suspension of operations of MUNA.<ref name=":3" />

== See also ==

* [[Pachacamac]] * [[Cono Sur (Lima)|Southern Cone of Lima]] * [[National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru]]

== References == {{reflist}}{{Lima landmarks}}{{coord|-12.254254072811106|-76.910619590551|display=title}}

[[Category:Inca Empire]] [[Category:History museums in Peru]] [[Category:Lurín District]]