Palacio de las Academias

The Palacio de las Academias (Palace of the Academies; previously Convento de San Francisco) is a Neo-Gothic building on the Avenida Universidad in the centre of Caracas, Venezuela. It dates back to 1684 when a Franciscan convent was built on the site but in the 19th century it served as a barracks, a hospital and a college. In 1876, under President Antonio Guzmán Blanco, the Universidad de Caracas was moved to the building, whose former colonial façade was rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style. After the university relocated to a new campus in 1952, the building became home to the National Academies. In 1965, it was listed as a national monument. The Palacio de las Academias now houses six National Academies, which are the National Academy of History, the Venezuelan Academy of Language, the Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Political and Social Sciences, the Academy of Jurisprudence, and the Academy of Physics, Mathematics and Nature.

The building is located on the corner of Avenida Universidad and La Bolsa in Caracas. It can be reached via the metro at the Capitolio/El Silencio station. The Iglesia de San Francisco (Church of San Francisco) is situated to the right and south of the building and next to the palacio, having been constructed as an annex to the building when it was a convent.

The Convent of San Francisco was the first of many which were built in the valleys of Caracas. Founded in 1576 and built within the next ten years, it was initially under Franciscan monks until 1597 when it was transferred to the Dominicans. From 1673, laymen could study in the classrooms. It was supplemented with another building at the back in 1794, which was damaged by the great earthquake of 1812. By the 1820s, it was one of 40 convents in the city. By 1835, the National Library was situated in the convent. Diego Bautista Urbaneja was the first director (c. 1833-35).

The building gained a new façade in 1876 during the presidency of Antonio Guzmán Blanco. Initially the San Francisco Convent, then the Central University of Venezuela, the building later became known as the Biblioteca or the Central Library. Since the tenure of President Pérez Jiménez, it has been called the Palace of the Academies.

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