13 Sights in Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina (with Map and Images)

Plaza Francia is a public square in the barrio of Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The nearby Plaza Intendente Alvear is commonly but mistakenly known by the same name. It was created by a Municipal Ordinance on October 19, 1909, as part of the changes introduced in the urban landscape on the occasion of the Argentina Centennial. Designed by French landscape architecture Carlos Thays, it is part of a broad set of squares including Plaza Intendente Alvear, Plaza San Martín de Tours, Plaza Juan XXIII, Plaza Ramón J. Cárcano, Plaza Dante and Plaza Rubén Darío, among others.

Wikipedia: Plaza Francia, Buenos Aires (EN)

José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, known simply as José de San Martín or the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru, was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.

Wikipedia: José de San Martín (EN)

The Monument to Christopher Columbus was located in the plaza behind the government house in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. It was located in the Columbus Park, between the Casa Rosada and La Avenida La Rabida. The monument was a gift celebrating the 1910 Centennial of Argentine independence from Spain. It was sponsored by the Argentine-Italian community, led by Italian immigrant businessman Antonio Devoto. Work of the Italian sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi, the foundation stone of the monument was placed on May 24, 1910 and the inauguration took place on June 15, 1921. The statue was a source of pride for the Buenos Aires Italian community, planned for the centennial of Argentine independence in 1910. For previously maligned Italian immigrants to Argentina, sponsoring the statue, which had pride of place in front of the Casa Rosada, brought them a level of respect they had not previously enjoyed. Nineteenth-century liberal thinker Juan Bautista Alberdi did not considered southern European Catholics, such as Italians, desirable immigrants. The centennial of Argentine independence was an occasion to create new monuments in the capital. In particular, immigrant communities were invited to submit proposals to the Centennial Commission. The immigrant communities of Italy, Spain, France, and Germany vied for prominent placement of their monuments. The site for the Columbus statue behind the Casa Rosada in the Parque Colón was already occupied by an enormous fountain, which was ordered moved. The statue of Columbus was on a high column, with the navigator holding a map in his hand and facing the sea, looking toward Europe. An inscription on the monument from Seneca's Medea alluded to foreknowledge of the existence of the New World, and the "discovery" by Columbus as the fulfillment of a prophecy. There were a series of allegorical statues at the base of the column depicting science, civilization, and genius. On another part of the base allegorical figures to Christian faith and justice are meant to convey European civilization's benefits brought to the New World by Columbus. The original plans did not directly tie Columbus to Argentina, and the Centennial Commission requested additions. This resulted in bas reliefs of Columbus, one with his requesting permission from the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabel and Ferdinand, to sail West. The other shows Columbus on his return, bringing indigenous slaves. The monument was made of Italian marble by an Italian sculptor in Italy, and until the requested changes in design, it had nothing to do with Argentina or the Italian immigrant community. On a number of points, the placement and symbolism of the Columbus statue became problemic for a number of Argentines after the 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage.

Wikipedia: Monument to Christopher Columbus (Buenos Aires) (EN)

Los primeros fríos is a monochromatic sculpture by Miguel Blay Fábregas, of which there are several versions, at least one carved in white marble and another in bronze, which was exhibited for the first time at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid, in 1892. With this work Blay broke the traditional realist language that had been maintained in all nineteenth-century sculpture. The marble version is in the MNAC in Barcelona while the bronze sculpture is in the Regional Museum of La Garrocha, in Olot.

Wikipedia: Los primeros fríos (ES)

The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. According to the legend, when King Numitor, grandfather of the twins, was overthrown by his brother Amulius in Alba Longa, the usurper ordered them to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf that cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them.

Wikipedia: Capitoline Wolf (EN)

Saturnalia is the name of a sculptural group made of patinated bronze that represents the homonymous festivity that was practiced in ancient Rome and ended with the realization of and people getting drunk. The work, made in 1900, is by the Italian Ernesto Biondi and received contrary criticism due to the theme that was represented in it.

Wikipedia: Saturnalia (escultura) (ES)

Plaza Italia is a small park in the city of Buenos Aires in the barrio of Palermo on the confluence of Santa Fe Avenue and Avenida Sarmiento. Next to the plaza are the main entrances to the Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, and the la Rural Expo Center. The area is very busy with traffic, as it is a public transportation hub for the city.

Wikipedia: Plaza Italia, Buenos Aires (EN)

The Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires is intended to keep alive the memory of the Shoah and disseminate what happened during the genocide of the Jewish people to Argentine society, collecting an extensive archive of documents and personal objects donated by those who suffered persecution and immigrated from Europe.

Wikipedia: Museo del Holocausto (Buenos Aires) (ES), Website

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is an Argentine art museum in Buenos Aires, located in the Recoleta section of the city. The Museum inaugurated a branch in Neuquén in 2004. The museum hosts works by Goya, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Rodin, Manet and Chagall among other artists.

Wikipedia: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires) (EN), Website

The Valle Uprising was a civic-military Peronist action led by Major General Juan José Valle on June 9, 1956, in order to overthrow the dictatorship calling itself the Liberating Revolution. The uprising integrates the broader process known as the Peronist Resistance.

Wikipedia: Levantamiento de Valle (ES)

Plaza Intendente Alvear is a public space in Recoleta, Buenos Aires. It is commonly but mistakenly known as Plaza Francia, as the actual Plaza Francia is located at its side. It faces the Recoleta Cemetery and the cultural center.

Wikipedia: Plaza Intendente Alvear (EN)

The Presidente Alvear Theater is located in the San Nicolás neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, precisely on Avenida Corrientes 1659, and is one of the theaters dependent on the Ministry of Culture of that city.

Wikipedia: Teatro Alvear (ES)

The Monumento ecuestre a Carlos María de Alvear located on Plaza Julio de Caro, a landmark in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was raised in honor of Carlos María de Alvear (1788-1852).

Wikipedia: Monument to General Carlos M. de Alvear (EN)