During the first years of the
Republic of Peru, the so-called "
loquerías" operated in
Lima, the one for men in the
Hospital de San Andrés and the one for women in the Hospital de Santa María de la Caridad (located at the
Inquisition Square), and from 1840, in the
Hospital de Santa Ana; Both hospitals had been founded during the
Viceroyalty of Peru, in the 16th century. The poor conditions in which the inmates of the
loquerias were found were repeatedly denounced by the doctor . Thus, in a document written by him in 1859, he states that: “It is impossible to cross the lintel of what are called
loquerias without escaping the sight of such a desolate scene. The Santa Ana
loquería presents us, of course, with a damp or muddy patio, where one sees here or there piles of stones, and where the unfortunate crazy women, covered in rags and with the particular expression that their evil gives to their countenances, they appear to us like the witches of
Macbeth." Such a situation led to the founding of the Hospital de la Misericordia, in the Quinta Cortés, an old premises in the
Cercado neighbourhood that had initially belonged to the
Jesuits and which had later become a barracks. The inauguration took place on December 16, 1859, and all the inmates were transferred from the old
loquerias of San Andrés and Santa Ana. The new establishment was built under the theoretical framework of moral treatment inspired by
Philippe Pinel, in
France, although seven decades late. Thus, in its Provisional Regulations of 1897 the following can be read as functions of the Sisters of Charity: "Art. 54. [...] 6. Make every effort to ensure that the sick are constantly clean and treated with affection, without forcing them to engage in religious practices that they do not accept. [...] 9. Prevent the sick from being mistreated in word or deed by the guards or other nurses. [...] 11. The Sisters must rigorously ensure that the sick enjoy all the freedom of action and movement compatible with this Regulation.” As for the guardians, it was among their obligations: “Art. 94. [...] 4. Always use persuasion and gentleness, without insulting or mistreating your patients, in deed or word [...]." The hospice became known for having housed characters such as the Peruvian writers
Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera and , having also been mentioned in some works, such as
Una visita al manicomio (A Visit to the Asylum), by the Argentine
Juana Manuela Gorriti. However, with the passage of time, the building of the hospital became insufficient for the growing population that it housed. The doctor , Ulloa's successor, insistently lamented the overcrowded conditions in which the insane lived, as well as the mistreatment they received, demanding the construction of a larger establishment. In an article published by him he wrote the following: "It can be said, without exaggeration, that the Lima asylum, neither in its beginning nor even with its later improvements, satisfies the multiple scientific demands. And it is even hard to say that it does not deserve the name of a hospital for the insane. The truth must be told in its entirety. [...] The premises are not even appropriate for a house of confinement. That's a long way off. Founding an asylum is a very difficult, very laborious, very delicate job. And all these circumstances were missing from Lima at its foundation. Perhaps there was too much talent to turn a convent into a madhouse. [...] Either you have a good asylum or you do not give that name to a building, to a place that does not deserve it." Only in 1900 did the construction of a new asylum begin in the town of
Magdalena del Mar, the which was not completed until January 1, 1918, when the
Colonia de la Magdalena Asylum was inaugurated, where all the patients from the Cercado Asylum were transferred. The premises of the old hospital were used from 1922 as a
Civil Guard and Police school, and currently the "Alipio Ponce Vásquez" and "Túpac Amaru" schools of the
National Police of Peru operate there. Starting in 1930, the Colonia de la Magdalena Asylum was renamed the "Víctor Larco Herrera" Hospital, a name it retains to this day. ==Gallery==