Paraguay’s National Pantheon of the Heroes stands in Asunción, the country’s capital.
The landmark occupies the center of Asunción between Palma and Chile streets. President Francisco Solano López ordered its construction in 1863 as an oratory dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Italian architect Alejandro Ravizza designed the project with builder Giacomo Colombino, but the War of the Triple Alliance halted construction and left the structure unfinished for decades.
The building was completed and inaugurated on October 12, 1936, after the Chaco War, and became Paraguay’s state mausoleum. Its remains and memorials honor figures including Carlos Antonio López, Francisco Solano López, and José Félix Estigarribia, as well as unknown soldiers and child victims associated with the Battle of Acosta Ñu. Its full name includes the Oratory of the Virgin of the Assumption, which can cause confusion with the capital’s name.