The Legislative Palace of Uruguay ( es, Palacio Legislativo del Uruguay) is a monumental building, meeting place of the General Assembly of Uruguay, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Uruguayan government. It is located in the '' barrio'' of Aguada in the city of Montevideo. Constructed between 1904 and 1925, the building was inaugurated on August 25, 1925, in commemoration of the centenary of the Declaration of Independence. It was declared a National Historic Monument in 1975 by the government of President

Juan María Bordaberry Juan María Bordaberry Arocena (; 17 June 1928 – 17 July 2011) was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who served as constitutional President from 1972 until 1973, and then ruled as the head of a civilian-military dictatorship up t ...

History

The history of the Legislative Palace begins in 1902 with a law that approves the call for international competition for architectural projects for the construction of a new headquarters for the legislative branch, since its old headquarters, the Montevideo Cabildo, had several inadequacies. The project of the architect Vittorio Meano, who at that time was building the Palace of the Argentine National Congress in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, was approved, however he never found out that his project had been the winner, since he died suddenly before he could be contacted by the Legislative Palace Commission, organizer of the project competition. The construction of this building started in 1904 sponsored by the government of President

José Batlle y Ordoñez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

. It was designed by Italian architects Vittorio Meano and

Gaetano Moretti Gaetano (anglicized ''Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval pe ...

, who planned the building's interior that is covered with marble. Among the notable contributors to the project was sculptor

José Belloni José Belloni (September 12, 1882 – November 28, 1965) was a Uruguayan sculptor of the Realist school. Biography José Belloni was born in Montevideo, in 1882; his father was Swiss from Ticino, and his mother Basque from Spain. His family ...

, who created numerous

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s and

allegorical sculpture Allegorical sculpture are sculptures of personifications of abstract ideas as in allegory. Common in the western world, for example, are statues of Lady Justice representing justice, traditionally holding scales and a sword, and the statues of Pru ...

s for the building. On August 25, 1925, the Palace was formally inaugurated. Although the decoration work was not completed until 1964. The inauguration was presided over by President

José Serrato José Serrato (September 30, 1868 – September 7, 1960) was a politician who was elected President of Uruguay. Background Serrato was a prominent member of the Uruguayan Colorado Party which had long dominated the politics of the country. H ...

. Source:

Architecture

The Palace is a Greco-Roman eclecticist style building, whose facades, interior walls, vaults and columns are covered with different marbles from Uruguay, it took almost three decades to build. It consists of three large halls and several adjoining rooms, an upper floor, where the Library of the Legislative Power works with more than 250,000 volumes and some parliamentary offices, as well as a large basement where there are offices, warehouses and printing and binding workshops. The main facade of the building is aligned with the axis of symmetry of Libertador Avenue.

Gallery

File:2016 Fachada del Palacio Legislativo de Montevideo.jpg, Main facade view File:2016 en Montevido avenida de Las Leyes, Palacio Legislativo. Uruguay.jpg, Columns of the main facade and staircase File:2016 bandera en el Palacio Legislativo de Montevido en Uruguay.jpg, Uruguayan flag waving in front of the palace File:Palacio Legislativo-Salón de los Pasos Perdidos.JPG, ''Salón de los Pasos Perdidos'' File:Palacio Legislativo-Guardia Militar.JPG, Guards guarding the Constitution of the Republic

References

External links

Official site
Seats of national legislatures Government buildings completed in 1925 Palaces in Montevideo Government of Uruguay Aguada, Montevideo {{Uruguay-struct-stub Landmarks in Uruguay

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links