It looks like a fairy tale castle and it reminds you of … yes, why? The castle, in Spanish Castillo, does not look like any other structure known in Peru. It is located in Santa Beatriz in the district of Lince and is called Rospigliosi Castle.
It is known that the castle was built by a private person, it is immediately noticed that this man was a doctor and researcher named Carlos Julio Rospigliosi Vigil, and a dream building was built for him.
The legend says that he wanted to finish the castle just in time for the visit of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII to be able to live there. Supposedly, he also requested permission to dig a ditch for a drawbridge, but that also belongs to the realm of fables. The fact is that after the political revolution and the abdication of King Alfonso, Dr. Rospigliosi used the castle as a family settlement. Because the castle is designed so imaginatively, it even served as a backdrop for Italian productions. Does it give you more curious curiosity? you can continue reading about this, or better yet: check out Rospigliosi Castle in Lima.
The architecture of Rospigliosi Castle
The Rospigliosi Castle combines many different styles. Externally, it resembles a medieval castle, but with additions in the form of battlements, turrets and windows with pointed arches. Then it’s a mix of defenses and dream castle. Striking is the color scheme of the Rospigliosi castle. The brick facade is painted beige, the friezes and cornices are light blue. Therefore, the floors and other architectural elements clearly differ from each other.
Inside, which was decorated mainly in Baroque style, the cream-colored walls prevail, the door and window frames, the railings and the wall panels are made of dark wood. The coffered ceilings are designed with the same colors. Other ceilings are decorated with stucco and painted with ornaments. The large windows of colors allow the rooms of the two lower floors to shine with warm light.
Some of the furniture comes from the doctor’s trips to Europe, others were made in workshops in Lima. Everywhere you can see great care and craftsmanship. It is also worth seeing the bathroom: the bathtub and the washbasin are decorated with a marble sink, so the faucets are faces of mythical creatures.
The front of the castle is located in the Manuel de Pino street, in the back there is a patio surrounded by a gallery with a fountain and trees. Outside the colonnade, there is something you would not expect at the beginning: airplanes.
The use that is given today to the Rospigliosi Castle
Why are the planes right behind Rospigliosi Castle? The answer is simple. Rospigliosi was not just a doctor and a university professor. He also dealt with the construction of aircraft. After the Peruvian state assumed control of the castle, in 1949, the Peruvian Air Force, the Peruvian Air Force, housed it there.
It is still there, along with the Aeronautical Museum, the Aeronautical Museum of Peru, which houses important testimonies of the history of aviation.
