Fodor's Expert Review La Manzana de Las Luces
A heap of history is packed into this single block of buildings southwest of Plaza de Mayo. Its name, "the Block of Illumination," is a metaphorical nod to the "illuminated" scholars who once worked within. Guided tours are led by excellent historians, and though regular tours are in Spanish, English summaries are offered at each stage.
The site's earliest occupant was the controversial Jesuit order, which began construction in 1661. The only surviving building from then is the galleried Procuraduría, the colonial administrative headquarters for the Jesuits' land holdings. Secret tunnels linked it to area churches, the Cabildo, and the port. After the Jesuits' expulsion from Argentina in 1767 (the simple brick-and-mud structure housed the city's first school of medicine and then the University of Buenos Aires). Fully restored, it's now home to a school for stringed instrument makers and a somewhat tacky crafts market.
The Jesuits honored their patron saint at the... READ MORE
A heap of history is packed into this single block of buildings southwest of Plaza de Mayo. Its name, "the Block of Illumination," is a metaphorical nod to the "illuminated" scholars who once worked within. Guided tours are led by excellent historians, and though regular tours are in Spanish, English summaries are offered at each stage.
The site's earliest occupant was the controversial Jesuit order, which began construction in 1661. The only surviving building from then is the galleried Procuraduría, the colonial administrative headquarters for the Jesuits' land holdings. Secret tunnels linked it to area churches, the Cabildo, and the port. After the Jesuits' expulsion from Argentina in 1767 (the simple brick-and-mud structure housed the city's first school of medicine and then the University of Buenos Aires). Fully restored, it's now home to a school for stringed instrument makers and a somewhat tacky crafts market.
The Jesuits honored their patron saint at the Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola (Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola), at the intersection of Alsina and Bolívar. You can visit without taking a tour.
Argentina's first congress convened in another building on the site, the Casas Virreinales (Viceroyal Residences)—ironic, given that it was built to house colonial civil servants. The remaining historic building is the neoclassical Colegio Nacional, a high-caliber public school that replaced a Jesuit-built structure. The president often attends graduation ceremonies, and Einstein gave a lecture here in 1925.
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