Museo Regional de Ica

The Regional Museum of Ica Adolfo Bermudez Jenkins is an archaeology and anthropology museum located in the city of Ica, Peru. It is primarily dedicated to the Paracas culture and serves as a major repository for the region's pre-Hispanic heritage. The institution safeguards cultural patrimony of the nation, housing artifacts from the Paracas, Nazca, Wari, Ica-Chincha, and Inca cultures. It holds the distinction of being the first museum in Peru where paleopathological studies were conducted on pre-Hispanic human remains. Today, it stands as one of the most important archaeological and cultural centers in southern Peru and a primary tourist attraction in the city of Ica.

The museum was created by supreme decree on March 30, 1946, and was inaugurated on December 22, 1947, at 480 Lima Street. It was originally named the Regional Museum of Ica Maria Reiche Gross Newman. The establishment was driven by the efforts of Adolfo Bermudez Jenkins, Fernando Leon de Vivero, and Alejandro Pezzia, who also assembled the initial collections with the help of regional associates. Bermudez Jenkins served as the founding director, and Pezzia later succeeded him. In 1971, the museum relocated to Ayabaca Street. In 2011, the institution received Paracas culture mantles repatriated by the Swedish government. The museum later underwent structural remodeling financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and managed by the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation, closing temporarily before reopening in May 2016.

The museum's holdings encompass roughly 26,000 archaeological pieces, largely originating from the Ica department through the work of archaeologists and local huaqueros, or tomb raiders. The collection spans pre-Hispanic, colonial, viceroyal, and early republican periods, alongside contemporary art and paleontological fossils. The pre-Hispanic collection emphasizes ceramics and textiles, featuring artifacts from the Paracas, Nazca, Wari, Ica-Chincha, and Inca cultures. The institution also preserves musical instruments, quipus, and colonial furniture. The exhibits are organized thematically into an archaeology room, a bioarchaeology room, and a projection room for videos, workshops, and temporary exhibitions of regional art.

The museum is renowned for its extensive Paracas culture collection, which includes intricate funeral cloaks and mantles, some of which were repatriated from Sweden in 2011. Its Nazca culture holdings feature notable polychrome ceramics and musical instruments like drums, trumpets, and antaras. The bioarchaeology room displays significant human remains illustrating pre-Columbian cultural practices, including mummies, trophy heads, pre-Columbian hairstyles, and skulls exhibiting cranial deformations and trepanations. Other distinctive artifacts include Wari and Inca textiles, four-point caps, unku garments, yupana calculators, and quipu record-keeping devices. Outside the main halls, the museum features a miniature model and replica of the Nazca Lines.

The museum is currently housed in a modern building located on Ayabaca Street in the San Isidro urbanization of Ica. The institution moved to this Ayabaca location in 1971. Between 2014 and 2016, the structure underwent significant remodeling funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The facility includes dedicated exhibition halls for archaeology, bioarchaeology, and projections, as well as an outdoor area incorporating the scale model of the Nazca Lines. The building is situated approximately one kilometer from the Plaza de Armas of Ica, accessible via paved roads.

The Regional Museum of Ica is administered by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and remains open to the public. Operating hours are Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission costs 8.00 soles for adults, 4.00 soles for higher education students, teachers, and retirees, and 1.00 sol for school students. The museum is located at Ayabaca Street, block 8, in the San Isidro urbanization. Visitor amenities include restrooms, a cloakroom, parking, and a complaint book. The museum can be reached by taxi, private vehicle, or public transportation, and is a short drive or walk from the Panamericana Sur highway.