This
square, which is really a group of united squares,
is dominated by the presence of the imposing National
Congress building.
WE RECOMMEND VISITING: The
Congress The
Monument to Two Congresses Pasaje
de la Piedad
Congress The Congress is located between Callao and Rivadavia
Avenues and Combate de los Pozos and Hipólito Yrigoyen
streets. It is the seat of the Legislative Power
Chambers and a monumental building erected by Italian
architect Victtorio Meano. Its prominent features are:
its dome, illuminated at night and the sculpted figures
on its surface, depicting the establishment of law and
equality of all men.
Monument
to Two Congresses
It commemorates the 1816’s General Constituent Assembly.
Also in front of the palace, is the Square of Two Congresses,
where you can see a milestone marking the country’s
kilometre 0, from where distances of national routes starting
in the city of Buenos Aires are measured. It is a monolith
located next to the Thinker statue.
Pasaje
de la Piedad (Mercy Passage)
It is located in 1525 and 1573 Bartolomé Mitre
street. It covers three blocks, opens up in U shape in
front of a church with the same name and was built in
the end of the XIXth century.
It
is surrounded by Defensa, Rivadavia, Hipólito
Yrigoyen and Bolívar streets.
WE RECOMMEND VISITING: The
Cabildo The
Metropolitan Cathedral House
of Government or Pink House The
Banco de la Nación Argentina Avenida
de Mayo
It is surrounded by Defensa, Rivadavia,
Hipólito Yrigoyen and Bolívar streets. Nucleus
of big popular concentrations, this square has been the
setting for important historical episodes. Juan de Garay,
founder of Buenos Aires, decided that the block situated
in front of Cabildo should be a public square. It was
called Plaza Mayor (Major Square) and was designed following
the pattern of cities founded by the Spanish empire: the
green centre surrounded by the centres of power. The Cabildo,
the Metropolitan Cathedral and the House of Government
encircle it. Although with time it was renovated and transformed,
it keeps the essence of Argentine history. Precisely in
the centre of the square is the first monument Buenos
Aires ever had: the Pirámide de Mayo (Pyramid of
May).
The
Cabildo (Town Council) Located in 65 Bolívar street,
the Cabildo was the principal city institution in colonial
times. Being one of Buenos Aires’s oldest buildings,
it has suffered numerous modifications. It was finished
in 1748. In 1810, the Cabildo was the epicentre of May
Revolution and it is now guarded by the Patrician Regiment,
founded in 1806. Its museum keeps the memory of colonial
times. Every week, there is a craft market in the patio.
The
Metropolitan Cathedral Located in front of Plaza de Mayo, on Rivadavia
Avenue. It is Argentina’s most important catholic
church. It is situated in the place that was set aside
for the Major Church in the city’s second foundation.
From the first clay chapel to the present cathedral, there
have been 6 rebuildings. At present, it has five wide
neo-Renaissance naves. The central nave, also called San
Pedro’s, has 75 metres wide (246 feet). The Tabernacle
Chapel displays an altar built with fine marble and bronze
imitating San Pedro’s “Confession Altar”.
Inside, a marble mausoleum holds the remains of General
José de San Martín, who was the greatest
independence hero.
House
of Government or Pink House Located in 50 Balcarce street. Since
1580, it occupies the space Juan de Garay had designated
to house governors and has been seat of the Argentine
government since the Primera Junta (First Council) in
1810, till today. It was first painted pink during Domingo
Faustino Sarmiento’s presidency. One of the building’s
attractions is the “Presidential Balcony”
from where presidents speak to the crowds gathered in
the Square. The existing building dates back to the end
of XIXth century. Its museum displays more than 10,000
historical pieces, sashes, batons, portraits and busts
of Argentine presidents.
The
Banco de la Nación Argentina (Argentina’s
National Bank) Situated in 25 de Mayo street and Rivadavia
Avenue. The building, which occupies the whole block,
is considered to be an architectural masterpiece. Finished
in 1944, it has a marked neo-classical style and stands
out for its transparent central dome. Due to its size
– with 50 metres in diameter and 36 metres high
(equivalent to 168 feet and 118 feet, respectively)- and
weight (52 thousand tons held by eight columns) this building’s
dome is the world’s third most important dome, only
surpassed by San Pedro’s in Rome and the Capitol’s
in Washington D.C.
Avenida
de Mayo (May Avenue) It is interesting to watch the variety of domes
and facades of every style in this vital artery that leads
to Plaza de Mayo. There you can appreciate the Pyramid
of May which commemorates the proclamation of the first
native government. Other important buildings are: the
Cabildo, the City’s Government Palace, the Cathedral
and the Pink House, seat of the Republic’s President.
Worth noting is Tortoni café, one of the city’s
traditional cafés and Barolo Palace, a 100-metre
high building which was the tallest in the city until
1935. The Pallace is full of references to Dante Alighieri’s
Divine Comedy.
It
consists of Perú, Moreno, Bolívar
and Alsina streets.
WE RECOMMEND VISITING: Manzana
De Las Luces San
Ignacio Church Basílica
del Santísimo Rosario and Santo Domingo Convent
Manzana
de las luces It consists of Perú, Moreno, Bolívar
and Alsina streets. Its history begins in 1661 when
Jesuits settle in it. As witness of their presence in
this place there are samples of their architecture: San
Ignacio Church, the Procuraduría (law office) and
a cloister of the primitive company school. During Vértiz’s
viceroyalty, the architect José Custodio de Sa
y Faría built, in the corner formed by Perú
and Moreno streets, five yielding houses, so called because
they yielded revenues to the crown.
The name “Manzana de las Luces” is a reference
to the fact that this place was considered centre of colonial
intellectuality. In this zone there are many traditional
churches, art and history museums and the old residences
of Buenos Aires’s high society of those times. In
the block’s underground, tunnels, possibly dating
back to Jesuitical times, were found. Since 1983, three
short sections of these tunnels may be visited. This is
a tour which invites you to spy on Buenos Aires’s
hidden history.
Iglesia
de San Ignacio Located in 225 Bolívar street,
it is one of the oldest churches in Buenos Aires.
Basílica
del Santísimo Rosario (Holy Rosary Basilica) and
Santo Domingo Convent. Located in Belgrano and Defensa streets. The
present church was built in 1751 by the Dominicans. In
the former convent there is now an astronomic observatory
and a natural history museum.
It
is the city’s latest architectural tendency.
The project, developed in 1991, was devised to integrate
the port to the city, as a prolongation of its centre.
WE RECOMMEND VISITING: Ex
Gran Hotel de Inmigrantes Corbeta
Uruguay Fragata
Sarmiento
It
is a river strip, with old docks (huge sheds used in the
past for storing cargoes brought by ships reaching the
port). These were recycled to become elegant offices and
luxurious restaurants. There are four docks, a pedestrian
way that leads to the old deposits now recycled and turned
into luxurious restaurants, offices, a 5-star hotel and
a residential area.
Many of the port’s streets and boulevards are named
after women renowned for their fighting attitude.
Ex
Gran Hotel de Inmigrantes (Ex Immigrants’ Grand
Hotel) Located in Dársena Norte. It
was the centre of a complex designated for receiving immigrants
in the first half of the XXth century. At present, you
may visit its museum.
Uruguay
Corvette Situated in Dock 1 Tel 4314-1090. It is a vessel-museum.
Uruguay Corvette is the oldest of Argentine ships still
afloat. Built in England, in the 1877-1880 period was
a school-vessel of the Argentine Navy. In 1903, it fullfilled
its most famous mission going to the rescue of Otto Nordeensköld’s
Swedish expedition to the Antarctic.
Sarmiento
Frigate Located in Dock 3 Tel.4334-9686 It was a school-vessel
of the Argentine Navy. This ship, that travelled a distance
equivalent to 42 trips around the world, is today a museum.
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ALOJARGENTINA - Travel and Tourism Agency - File No. 11774 Provision No.
1280
The
Congress
