Sheraton Lima Historic Center

The Italian Art Museum was donated in 1921 to Peru for its centenary of independence by the Italian residents. Located in a beautiful building designed by the Milanese architect Gaetano Moretti, the museum exhibits magnificent examples of Italian Art from the 20th century. The collection includes sculptures, paintings, engravings, drawings and ceramics from 125 artists.

The showcases of the “Gold Museum of Peru” display the craftsmanship of several centuries of Peruvian history, mainly in pre-Inca gold. There are decorative items of all the cultures, such as, embossed and weaved nose ornaments with cut stone pendants; sets of filigree figures depicting birds, men, or monkeys; mantles, bracelets and earflaps of the Vicus culture; lizards, weasels, felines, bags of coca leaves, earrings and belts of the Frias culture; pectorals with zoomorphic designs, flat or embossed crowns of the Chancay culture; funerary masks with twisted rays or serpents from Ica; and masks with open mouths and teeth, wristbands, shin protectors and spatulas of the Nazca culture.

The Lima Art Museum presents 3000 years of Peruvian art. The museum has a large selection of pre-Columbian textiles and ceramics, pictures and furniture from Colonial and Republican times and a significant selection of paintings and photographic works from modern times. A representative selection of these collections can be seen in a permanent exhibition on the first floor. The contemporary art can be found in the exhibition rooms of the basement.