Obelisco in Buenos Aires
The Obelisco is one of the defining monuments of Buenos Aires. It was inaugurated in 1936 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first, and unsuccessful, founding of the city by Pedro de Mendoza. (The city was later reestablished in 1580.) It sits at the intersection of Corrientes and Avenida 9 de Julio, which is the heart of the city and the Theater District. The Obelisco is the focal point of the vista between Plaza de Mayo and Diagonal Norte, meant to mimic the vistas found in Paris around Place de la Concorde. The Obelisco sits in the oval Plaza de República, all of which was once the site of Iglesia de San Nicolás where the Argentine flag was first displayed on August 23, 1812, in Buenos Aires shortly after independence from Spain. This church, of course, was demolished to create the city’s most iconic symbol, but an inscription on the north side of the Obelisco honors its noble sacrifice. As with Paris’s Eiffel Tower, some criticized the project and considered it ugly, but the city has embraced the Obelisco as its main symbol.
Read more: www.frommers.com/destinations/buenosaires/A34267.html#ixz…
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