Buenos Aires - Monserrat: Plaza de Mayo

            The Plaza de Mayo (May Square), bound by Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce, Rivadavia and Bolívar, is the historic core and political heart of Buenos Aires.   It is surrounded by representations of nearly every era of the city's history from the 18th-century colonial seat of power, El Cabildo, and Catedral Metropolitana to the 19th century executive offices of Casa Rosada and Gobierno de la Ciudad.  The landscaped plaza has been the site of some of Argentina's fiercest internal battles from the 1810 revolution to the 1955 naval attacks as well as its greatest triumphs including the celebrations following World Cup victories in 1978 and 1986.  And it still serves a forum for demonstrations--most famously the  Madres de Plaza de Mayo, the mothers of the desaparecidos, leftists who "disappeared" during the Dirty War of the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983--who continue to demonstrate every Thursday afternoon as they have since 1977.

La Casa Rosada (The Pink House), officially known as Casa de Gobierno, is the official executive mansion and office of the Presidente de la Nación Argentina (President of the Argentine Nation).  Its balcony, which faces this large square, has famously served as a podium by many figures, including Eva Perón, who rallied the descamisados there, and Pope John Paul II, who visited Buenos Aires in 1998. Located at the east end of Plaza de Mayo, the Italian-style neoclassical building was built in phases, but dates back mostly to the late 19th century.

The site, originally at the shoreline of the Río de la Plata, was first occupied in 1594 by la Real Fortaleza de Don Juan Baltazar de Austria, and then its 1713 replacement, Castillo de San Miguel.  In 1857, President Justo José de Urquiza largely replaced the fort with Edward Taylor's La Aduana Nueva, a new Italianate-style Custom house, but its administrative annex survived to be used as the Presidential offices of Bartolomé Mitre in the 1860s.  President Domingo Sarmiento gave the building its characteristic pink hue--reportedly to defuse political tensions by mixing the red and white colors of the  opposing political parties.  An alternative explanation, though, suggests the original paint contained cow's blood to prevent damage from humidity.  Sarmiento also commissioned Carl Kihlberg to build Casa de Correos, the Second Empire-style Central Post Office, next door in 1873.  President Julio Roca commissioned Enrique Aberg to replace the cramped State House with one resembling the Central Post Office in 1882. In 1884, he commissioned Francesco Tamburini to unify the two with the now iconic Italianate archway.  The resulting statehouse that stills stands today was completed in 1898 following an eastward expansion that included the demolition of Taylor's custom house.

El Monumento ecuestre al General Manuel Belgrano (Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano) was inaugurated in Plaza de Mayo on September 24, 1873--the anniversary of the Battle of Tucumán.  The bronze statue of Belgrano, depicted holding the flag of Argentina, was designed by French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, and the horse was designed by Argentine sculptor Manuel de Santa Coloma.  During the government of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, the granite base was raised, and the monument was rotated such that he looked north instead of towards the Cabildo so that his back wasn’t turned to Casa Rosada.

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (June 3, 1770 -June 20, 1820), regarded as one of the main Libertadore, was lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina.

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Taken in: Argentina / Ciudad de Buenos Aires / Buenos Aires / Piñeyro (show map)

Taken on: July 18, 2012

Tags:

Monumento ecuestre al General Manuel Belgrano

Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse

Manuel de Santa Coloma

statue

sculpture

monument

Monumento

Plaza de Mayo

Monserrat

Buenos Aires

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires

Argentina

South America

La Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

Pink House

The Pink House

Casa de Gobierno

House of Government

Government House

Neoclassical

Francesco Tamburini « less

Sets appears in: • Buenos Aires: Monserrat • Buenos Aires: Monserrat - Casa Rosada

Camera: Canon PowerShot S95, f/4.0, 1/1600 sec, 6mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot S95
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1600)
Focal Length:	6mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired, Red-eye reduction
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Picasa
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