Casona of the National University of San Marcos

Casona de San Marcos
View of the building's chapel from the park
General information
Type	Institution, cultural centre
Architectural style	Baroque, Rococo
Location	Lima
Address	Av. Nicolás de Piérola 1222, University Park, Lima
Country	Peru
Opened	1605
Owner	University of San Marcos
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: iv
Reference	500
Inscription	1988 (12th Session)
Area	259.36 ha
Buffer zone	766.70 ha

The Casona of the National University of San Marcos (Spanish: Casona de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos), also known as the Cultural Centre of San Marcos (Spanish: Centro Cultural de San Marcos, CCSM), which operates in the building, is a large Spanish colonial building that hosts the cultural centre of the National University of San Marcos, located in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The building, as well as its adjacent public space, known as the University Park, is part of the area and of the list of buildings of the historic center of Lima that were recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, in 1988.^[1]

Located in the old building of the Noviciado de San Antonio Abad—a Jesuit novitiate—and of the Real Convictorio de San Carlos, it became the university's headquarters between 1875 and 1966, when most of its administrative offices were moved to the campus of the University City. It serves as the main reference of the cultural and artistic activity of the university, and is one of the best preserved constructions of the colonial era in Lima, housing a theatre known as the University Theatre (TUSM), a library and directorates of ballet, folklore, music, film and television, among others. It also houses two museums: the Museum of Art (MASM), the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA). It is the oldest of the seats currently occupied by the university and one of the most important non-religious historical buildings in the city of Lima.