Sights
Old City
Córdoba's centre comes as a pleasant surprise. It's most interesting buildings are grouped around a pedestrianized area, enabling you to gaze up at the magnificent architecture without being mown down by traffic. Most of the older buildings lie within a few blocks of the Plaza San Martín, which dates from 1577 when it was the site for the odd bullfight. Now it's a wide open space, with lots of cafés, a fine statue of San Martín, and Jacaranda trees creating a mass of purple in late spring. On the west side, the former Cabildo, built in 1610, with characteristic arches and two interior patios, has a colourful history. It has served as a prison, courthouse and clandestine detention centre during the last military dictatorship. Next to it, the cathedralIdaily 0800-1200, 1630-2000, is the oldest in Argentina, an extraordinary confection of 17th and 18th-century styles from successive renovations. The marvellous neo-baroque interior has wooden doors from a Jesuit temple and statues of angels resembling the indigenous peoples, with a silver tabernacle and lavishly decorated ceiling. Don't miss one of the most remarkable collections of religious art in the country, just south of the cathedral in the Carmelite convent built in 1628, and adjacent chapel of Santa Teresa, guided visits in English and French. A beautiful building and highly recommended.
On the west side of the pleasant Plaza del Fundador, one block west, the convent and church of Santa Catalina de Siena, founded in 1613, but rebuilt in the late 19th century, contains a splendid collection of paintings from Peru as well as colonial Spanish tapestries and carpets. For more contemporary art, the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes has a permanent collection by celebrated Argentine artists in an early 20th-century French- style mansion.
The Manzana Jesuítica, contained within the streets Avenida Vélez Sarsfield, Caseros, Duarte Quirós and Obispo Trejo, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Iglesia de la Compañía, at the corner of Obispo Trejo and Caseros, was originally built between 1640 and 1676, and its curious vaulted ceiling is a ship's hull, created by a Jesuit trained in the Dutch shipyards. Behind the church, on Caseros, is the smaller, most beautiful Capilla Doméstica, a private 17th-century Jesuit chapel, accessible only with a guided tour, but worth seeing for the indigenous painting on the altar. The main building of the Universidad Nacional de CórdobaIoffers guided visits (in English) to the church, chapel, university (called Museo Histórico) and school. The Jesuit Colegio Máximo, now houses one of the most valuable libraries in the country, as well as the Colegio Nacional de Montserrat, the most traditional high school of the province. Guided visits are obilgatory.
Other fine examples of religious architecture are the Iglesia de San Francisco, Buenos Aires y Entre Ríos, on a leafy plaza, and the Iglesia de San Roque, Obispo Salguero 84. One block east of plaza San Martín is the Museo Histórico Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte with texts in English and German, the only surviving colonial family residence in the city, dating from 1760, and a labyrinth of patios and simply decorated rooms. The Basílicade La Merced has a fine gilt wooden pulpit dating from the colonial period and beautifully carved wooden doors, with fine ceramic murals revealing Córdoba's history on the outside by the local artist Armando Sica.
Other sights
Attractive areas for a stroll are along La Cañada, a stream running a few blocks west of the plaza, and the Nueva Córdoba district, south of the plaza San Martín, with cafés and an eclectic mix of building styles along Avenida Hipólito Yrigoyen. The neo-Gothic Iglesia de los Capuchinos displays the night skies for every month of the year. Parque Sarmiento is the largest green area of the city, laid out by French architect Charles Thays in 1889 with small lakes, a neat rose garden and a zoo set among steep hills. The magnificent Mitre railway station, near the bus terminal, has a beautiful tiled confitería, still in use for Sunday evening tango shows . The lively, crowded market, Mercado de la Ciudad, provides a taste of local urban culture.
Córdoba's centre comes as a pleasant surprise. It's most interesting buildings are grouped around a pedestrianized area, enabling you to gaze up at the magnificent architecture without being mown down by traffic. Most of the older buildings lie within a few blocks of the Plaza San Martín, which dates from 1577 when it was the site for the odd bullfight. Now it's a wide open space, with lots of cafés, a fine statue of San Martín, and Jacaranda trees creating a mass of purple in late spring. On the west side, the former Cabildo, built in 1610, with characteristic arches and two interior patios, has a colourful history. It has served as a prison, courthouse and clandestine detention centre during the last military dictatorship. Next to it, the cathedralIdaily 0800-1200, 1630-2000, is the oldest in Argentina, an extraordinary confection of 17th and 18th-century styles from successive renovations. The marvellous neo-baroque interior has wooden doors from a Jesuit temple and statues of angels resembling the indigenous peoples, with a silver tabernacle and lavishly decorated ceiling. Don't miss one of the most remarkable collections of religious art in the country, just south of the cathedral in the Carmelite convent built in 1628, and adjacent chapel of Santa Teresa, guided visits in English and French. A beautiful building and highly recommended.
On the west side of the pleasant Plaza del Fundador, one block west, the convent and church of Santa Catalina de Siena, founded in 1613, but rebuilt in the late 19th century, contains a splendid collection of paintings from Peru as well as colonial Spanish tapestries and carpets. For more contemporary art, the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes has a permanent collection by celebrated Argentine artists in an early 20th-century French- style mansion.
The Manzana Jesuítica, contained within the streets Avenida Vélez Sarsfield, Caseros, Duarte Quirós and Obispo Trejo, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Iglesia de la Compañía, at the corner of Obispo Trejo and Caseros, was originally built between 1640 and 1676, and its curious vaulted ceiling is a ship's hull, created by a Jesuit trained in the Dutch shipyards. Behind the church, on Caseros, is the smaller, most beautiful Capilla Doméstica, a private 17th-century Jesuit chapel, accessible only with a guided tour, but worth seeing for the indigenous painting on the altar. The main building of the Universidad Nacional de CórdobaIoffers guided visits (in English) to the church, chapel, university (called Museo Histórico) and school. The Jesuit Colegio Máximo, now houses one of the most valuable libraries in the country, as well as the Colegio Nacional de Montserrat, the most traditional high school of the province. Guided visits are obilgatory.
Other fine examples of religious architecture are the Iglesia de San Francisco, Buenos Aires y Entre Ríos, on a leafy plaza, and the Iglesia de San Roque, Obispo Salguero 84. One block east of plaza San Martín is the Museo Histórico Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte with texts in English and German, the only surviving colonial family residence in the city, dating from 1760, and a labyrinth of patios and simply decorated rooms. The Basílicade La Merced has a fine gilt wooden pulpit dating from the colonial period and beautifully carved wooden doors, with fine ceramic murals revealing Córdoba's history on the outside by the local artist Armando Sica.
Other sights
Attractive areas for a stroll are along La Cañada, a stream running a few blocks west of the plaza, and the Nueva Córdoba district, south of the plaza San Martín, with cafés and an eclectic mix of building styles along Avenida Hipólito Yrigoyen. The neo-Gothic Iglesia de los Capuchinos displays the night skies for every month of the year. Parque Sarmiento is the largest green area of the city, laid out by French architect Charles Thays in 1889 with small lakes, a neat rose garden and a zoo set among steep hills. The magnificent Mitre railway station, near the bus terminal, has a beautiful tiled confitería, still in use for Sunday evening tango shows . The lively, crowded market, Mercado de la Ciudad, provides a taste of local urban culture.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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