Buenos Aires - the Monuments

Buenos Aires is a sophisticated city of grand classical buildings and monuments. The monuments are often patriotic, and generals or statesmen on horses adorn many of them. Grateful scantly clad or nude women surrounding the hero(s) are usually a prominent part of the ensemble.

Piramide de Mayo, on Plaza de Mayo, is the oldest monument in Buenos Aires, Its construction started in 1811 in commemoration of the May Revolution.  The female figure on top of the pyramid represents Liberty.

***

The exuberant Monumento a los dos Congressos is located in the center of Plaza del Congresso. It was erected to commemorate the 1813 Assembly and the 1816 Declaration of Independence. Designed by two Belgians -  architect Eugenio D'Huicque and sculptor Jules Lagae, and made in Brussels, the monument was finally assembled in Congress Square, drawing some criticism for obscuring the Congresso building.

 

 

     The central female figure symbolizes the Republic of Argentina. The snake is,
of course, the enemy. The lady on the left is a symbol of abundance,
and definitely  deserves a closer look.

 

 Broken chains...

 

Power to the people of Argentina

This angel comes from the roof of the Congresso

***

Plaza Francia is famous for it's weekend arts and crafts market. And it helps to have such a beautiful monument in the midst of it - a gift by France to the nation of Argentina in commemoration of it's 100 years of independence in 1910. Created by French architect Peynot and sculptor Nanot.

 

 

 

 

 

***

Monument to the Constitution and the Four Argentina Regions, better known as the "Spanish Monument" ("Monumento De los Españoles") is an enormous body of work, with money raised by Spanish community to commemorate the 1910 Centennial of the Revolution of May. It was created in marble and brass by the Spanish sculptor Augusti Subirats, and is linked to a tragic 1916 accident in which 450 people died when the ocean liner Principe de Asturias, with a load of marble ornaments and bronze sculptures for the monument, wrecked not far from Rio de Janeiro. Replicas were made and delivered 11 years later.

 

 

 

At the top - the statue of the Republica

At the base 

La Pampa, one of the Regions

A lot of female nudes at the bottom in the waters

It all has a deep meaning

 

***

The statue of General Carlos Maria De Alvear by the French sculptor Emile Antonine Bourdelle commemorates the great "Battle of Ituzaingo" in which Argentinians defeated a much larger Brazilian army. It's mostly unknown in our parts of the world, but 19th century Latin America was at its births, and in addition to wars of independence, the newly minted countries continued to settle scores with each other for decades.

 

  

 

***

The monument to Bartolomeo Mitre is created by Italian sculptors Luis Calandra, David and Eduardo Rubino. A statesmen, military figure, journalist, and  a poet, Bartolomeo Mitre was the President of Argenine in the-nineteen century, later forced to exile. The bronze equestrian figure of Mitre is surrounded by allegoric groups made of Carrara marble.

 Winged Victory

 

 The Family

 

 The Harmony(?)

***

The monument to General San Martin, the leader of the struggle for independence of South America, is created by Louis-Joseph Daumas, and is located in the Plaza San Martin

 

A plaque on the monument to San Martin

Click photo for high resolution