Recoleta Neighborhood, Buenos Aires city, Argentina

Recoleta is a central and residential neighborhood of Buenos Aires; is an historic and architectonic zone. Its name comes from the Monastery of Recoletos Fathers; members of Franciscan order. It was established at the beginning of XVIII century, founded in a monastery in honor to Nuestra Señora del Pilar (The Recoleta) and is close the cemetery.  

Del Pilar square is the geographic center of the neighborhood. It is one of the most elegant and expensive neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, includes familiar mansions and luxury hotels like Alvear Palace, the most luxury hotel.

Museums and cultural centers

Close to the cemetery you will find the Centro Cultural La Recoleta one of the most important exhibitions rooms of the city; is 150 meters away from the Fine Arts Museum (MNBA), which has valuable works of art. The Palais Glace is to the west, an ice rink about the middle of XX century.
If people walk 15 blocks to the north by Figueroa Alcorta Avenue, they will find another Fine Arts museum (in Palermo neighborhood). There are also several gallery arts.

The National Library was built during 20 years, and finished in 1993. It has more than four millions of books, including 22 books published before15000, the main one is “La Divina Comedia”.

In Recoleta neighborhood, there are the oldest and prestigious schools as Carlos Pellegrini, Commerce Superior Institute, Champagnat s, “Escuela Argentina Modelo”, Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia and Del Salvador.

Statues

The neighborhood has numerous statues and sculptures in parks and squares.  Many people attributes to Recoleta exaggerating and saying: “Recoleta is the neighborhood with more statues in the world”. The main ones are: El Ultimo Centauro, El Arquero and the equestrian statue in honor to Carlos Maria de Alvear, works of Antoine Bourdelle sculptor, The Florais Generica ( belong to Eduardo Catalano) and the Torso Masculino Desnudo from Fernando Botero.

 In the cemetery there are valuable works of art, of whose most important ones are Cristo Muerto work of Giulio Monteverde. The Basilica El Pilar are also appreciated because of its colonial art and a beautiful apostle sculpture of Alonso Cano.

Green Areas

There are many squares and parks on Libertador and Figuero Alcorta Avenue, squares like Alemania, Austria, Uruguay, Chile, Francia Intendente Alvear and so on. The Vicente López square is situated in the intersection of Montevideo and Thays Park.

Architecture

Since the end of XIX century and at the beginning of the third decade of XX century, in Recoleta neighborhood were built great quantity of châteaux (replica of Loira) and petits hotels with parisino style; most of them were built by French architects. Most of the materials were carried from Europe (boiseries, tiles, marbles for steps, bronze and smithy, “arañas” with teardrop crystals, lampshades, big mirrors and beveled edge large windows, vitraux, mosaics, fountains, and so on), some of them were demolished since 1960 because of the new constructions. In this piece of land there were an extraordinary palacete.

La Recoleta has French architecture. In Alvear avenue there are many constructions: Duhau Palace (former house of Duhau family), the nunciature of Vatican, The Hockey Club, and the former Alvear Hotel (nowadays, it is the Italian embassy). Recoleta has petit hotels among the modern buildings.

El tango

After filling the Manso stream; there were small lagoons, used for adorning the garden of an expensive cabaret: El Pabellon de Las Rosas - the building as the Hansen one in Palermo – kept the aura of La Belle Époque; after El Pabellón de Las Rosas in Libertador and Tagle, Armenonvielle succeed (were Carlos Gardel show off because it was so crowded). Those places there were not very safe – sometimes bloody – between bad people"compadritos" and "jailaifes" (or daddy’s sons). About the middle of 1910 the Palais de Glace was out of order as ice rink was also destined for dancing and was the place where the tango was accepted- after many unexpected events- by the upper class(previously in Paris).

Many of the tangos lyrics, the musical genre originated in the city, reflects the life of this neighborhood. One of them from Horacio Ferrer, whose music belongs to Astor Piazzolla, is the famous “Balada de un loco” which mentions to two streets of the neighborhood: Callao and Arenales.

”Ya sé que estoy piantao, piantao, piantao…../No ves que va la luna
"Ya sé que estoy piantao, piantao, piantao... / No ves que va la luna rodando por Callao/que un corso de astronautas y niños, con un vals,/ me baila alrededor... ¡Bailá! ¡Vení! ¡Volá!"

Gastronómic Area  

After La Biela´s popularity, the zone was populated by restaurants, cinemas, discotheques, cafés and bars. It is one of the most visited zones of the city, not only during the day but also at night.

Shops and restaurants

In the neighborhood, there are branches of the most important clothing shoppings in the world. It is a gastronomic center. Some of its restaurants were internationally awarded, and are located in Ortiz pedestrian walk.

WHAT TO VISIT IN LA RECOLETA?

Cemetery
Junín 1790

The Recoleta cemetery is one of the main attractions of the neighborhood. It was designed by Prosper Catelin French and by Bernardino Rivadavia´s initiative (ex president), and then inaugurated in 1822.

It is close to the former monastery of Recoletos Fathers. It is exceptional funeral architecture, belongs to XIX century and at the beginning of XX century, has familiar mausoleums and vaults of bourgeois class. There are remains of famous people of Argentinean history.

The cemetery is what it was the former Recoletos Fathers´ orchard. In 1822 was turned into public cemetery, after the religious order expulsion. It covers six hectares where are the remains of leaders, independence warriors, presidents, writers, scientists and artists.

Francia Square
Del Libertador avenue, Ricardo Levene, Dr. Luis Agote and Pueyrredón avenue

The Intendente Alvear square, commonly known as “Francia Square”, is located in front of the cemetery and the cultural centre. In 1960 was famous because of its craft fair called “feria hippie” (most of its members belonged to this movement). After some time, the fair was populated and there weren’t authentic craftsmen, only scalpers and hawking people.

Nowadays, the government has reorganized the fair, inviting to craftsmen and expelling to people who took advantages of tourism, (what was called “feria paralela”). The craftsmen were organized and have been evaluated and then registered.

The central monument was built by Edmond Peynot. It was inaugurated in 1919 and was the first one. It was donated because of the hundredth anniversary of May Revolution.

La Biela
Quintana and Roberto M. Ortiz

It is located in front of Francia square, popular place for famous people of politics, art, journalism and sport. Initially, it was called “Areo bar” or “La Veredita”. Its name comes from the fifties and seventies when motoring language was so popular – tuerca, en porteño.  There were famous motoring customers like Juan Manuel Fangio, Froilán González and Manuel Gálvez, also Bjoy Casares who played baccarat games.

Since 1942, it was called La Bieta( the former Café Aero Bar), then it was the meeting place for young people who loved motoring. Its successful motivates to gastronomic places in front of the cemetery. In 1999 it was declared Cultural Place by The City Council. The bar is located on Quintana Avenue (appears in Cristobal Barrientos´ maps of 1772). It was called the long street because there was no avenue crossing it to Callao Avenue.

National Library
Agüero 2502

The National library was founded in 1811. It has a collection of 2.000.000 books approximately and its newspaper library is the most important one in Latino America. The actual building was designed by Clorindo Testa architect in collaboration with Alicia Cazzaniga and Francisco Bullrich. There were three decades to its inauguration in 1992. It has nine reading rooms, can hold up 940 people, an auditorium hall and a librarian training hall.

República Oriental del Uruguay Square
Del Libertador, Austria, Tagle and Figueroa Alcorta Avenues

In the middle of the square, there is a monument to José Gervasio de Artigas. This work belongs to Jose Luis Zorrilla de San Martin sculptor and Alejandro Bustillo architect

Mitre Square
Del Libertador Avenue and Luis Agote

One of the most exclusive residential zones of Buenos Aires is located behind the “barranca of Mitre square, surrounding the Nelly and Obes roundabout. Among the buildings with French architecture, the Great Britain embassy stands out.

Bartolome Mitre was an Argentinean politician, was born on 1821 and elected president in 1862.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Fine Arts Museum)
Del Libertador Avenue1473

It is the most important in our country and one of the main ones of America. It has 32 rooms, where exhibited itinerant exhibitions, its collections are are goes up to 10.000 objects.

The standing out paintings belongs to Goya, El Greco, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Degas, Van, Gogh, Picasso, Kandinsky, Miró, Bourdelle, Rodín, Cándido López, Prilidiano Pueyrredón and so on.

Faculty of Law
Figueroa Alcorta Avenue 2263

The Faculty of Law of Buenos Aires University was founded in 1821 by Dr. Antonio Saenz chancellor. The building is the result of preliminary drafts tender, awarded to Arturo Ochoa, Ismael Chiapore and Pedro Vivent architects. It is inspired in Doric style, has no decoration apart from its own monumental structure, according to classical art. It belongs to 1949 and covers 40.000 square meters.
Inside the building, there is a museum, an art gallery and a library.

Torcuato de Alvear Square
Betwen Del Libertador Avenue, Pueyrredón, Alvear and Junín

There, there is one of the most prestigious crafts fairs of Buenos Aires every weekend. It is one of the places with major presence of street artists. There are historic buildings and a commercial centre.

Monument to C. M. Alvear

The monument to Carlos Maria de Alvear is a work of Antonio Emilio Bourdelle sculptor, disciple and collaborator of Auguste Rodin. Bourdelle took almost ten years to build it. The general Carlos Maria de Alvear was collaborator of San Martin, president of the Meeting in XIII century and Supreme Director of “Provincias Unidas Del Río de La Plata” in 1815.

Palais de Glace
Posadas 1725

It was the first ice rink in Buenos Aires from 1911 to 1921. Then, it was turned to an elegant tango hall. Nowadays, it is an exhibition centre.

Alvear Avenue and Alvear hotel

It was originally named “Bella Vista”, was designed in 1885 by initiative of Don Torcuato de Alvear, first quartermaster of Buenos Aires, in honor to his father Carlod Maria Alvear

The hotel is one of the most important of the city. It is a-1928-building, has 280 large rooms and roomy balconies overlooking the river.

RecoletaCultural Centre
Junín 1930

It was inaugurated in 1979, it operates within a XIX century-building, which belongs to Recoletos Monks. It was remodeled by Jacques Bedel, Luis Benedit and Clorindo Testa. It has 27 exhibition rooms where there are Fine Arts samples, concerts, theater, dancing, performances, electro acoustic music, video, and so on.

Nuestra Señora del Pilar Basilica
Junín 1892

It was finished in 1732 by Andres Blanqui Jesuit architect. It keeps altarpieces, most of the statues and objects of that epoch. There is a museum close to it.