The mere idea of a museum inside a former Spanish house built in the late 1500 and belonged to one of the “four neighbors” (denomination of the oldest and most important families in Trujillo) caught my attention, especially because I have been living here for seven years and I have never heard such a thing. I knew about the Spanish heritage around the city but it was unknown to me the existing of a restored museum displaying within its halls and alleys the life of those days, so I dig a little deeper and I was surprised to find out that “La Casa Urqueaga” is located in the very heart of the city.
We walk into the house and three security guards watch us from the other side of a white fence blocking the entrance. The reason of all this security is that in this building also works the Banco Central de Reserva, which owns the facility and has made every effort to restore it almost completely, and provides us a path to the old colonial Trujillo. For that reason, we will always be grateful.
After we were properly identified and informed about the "Do's" and "Don'ts" and especially "what not to touch" we passed a large courtyard entrance, where Nathaly, the guide, welcomed us with a smile.
Something that quickly got our attention was a very elegant room, with a crystal chandelier and two gilt-edged mirrors. "This is the Gentlemen Hall" Nathaly anticipates our thoughts and leads us through a traditional and elegant colonial rendezvous, where many political and conquest talks were held. The walls are pale green, which gives a subtle touch of formality. On both sides of the room there are chairs that used to belong to another part of the house, the gentlemen chairs had a more tough appearance. A small wooden door at one side is very intriguing, is the prayer room, I tried to sneak in but a white cord blocked the entrance, and our guide helps us to imagine the dimensions of the room while she talks about the importance of Catholicism in Spanish families at that time.
Right next to it, we find the “ladies hall”, a smaller and much more colorful room, with wide windows and elaborate furniture. It is definitely the perfect place to have a more enjoyable conversation.
Our next stop is a smaller and more decorative yard. We were surprised when we found out that the stoned floor underneath us was from 1534, built with rocks of the local river. Our journey takes us now to the guess room, the only room open to the public in the whole house. Through a window, we can see a big old bed and a marvel sink, along with some other personal care items. At the other side of the room, a hand umbrella rest peacefully on the floor and an oak table holds a half-played checkers game made of porcelain. We make our best to get a picture that lives up to the beauty of the room. Finding out that the Libertador Simón Bolivar was a guess in that room was the icing on the cake.
The next room is an illuminated dinning-hall, with two wooden table (one for the adults and one for the children), here is where my partner and I take different paths, she start taking pictures to a marvelous collection of porcelain dinnerware from the late 1600, while I walked towards a big old English clock.
The paintings deserve special mention, and perhaps the one that impressed us more was located in a small interior passageway annexing the room with the tea room, where a roman was restraining the hands of Jesus with a rope while another roman whipped him mercilessly, marking his back with such force that cause him severe scars. As we suspected that painting had also been moved and used to be in the prayer room.
To conclude a dream visit, the Central Bank has attached a couple of showrooms in the back where any fan of numismatics would feel amazed. There are unique coins and banknotes, from the bank collection, both commemorative and the old soles and reales.
We were about to head for the exit when Nathaly took us through a passageway cavalry that we had not seen yet until a spacious hall, where it lay what we believe is one of the most important parts of the museum: A desk used by Simón Bolívar and showing proudly some ancient copies of the Bible and the former constitution of Peru. A real rarity!
After we finished the tour we thanked the hospitality of our guide and she reminded us the service guide was available from 9:15 AM to 3:00 PM, although she takes his (deserved) break from 1:00 to 2:00, and that, if it were not enough, she also provides the tour in English, and a special tour for children, in a much more narrative form. We can not think a better way to teach our children about the colonial history.
And this way we finish our visit to the Museum of the Banco Central de Reserva or Casa Urquiaga. A real time machine in downtown and available to everyone. An amazing place.
