Wednesday, November 20, 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
Discover Montevideo (AM)
We marveled at the beautiful natural setting, iconic monuments and historic residences of Montevideo. Strategically situated on the estuary of the Plata River, the city offers a wide range of experiences to visitors. From the picturesque Ciudad Vieja neighborhood, see the Legislative Council, an impressive building made of national marble. It is considered to be one of the most attractive parliamentary buildings in the world. Equally impressive is the Batlle y Ordóñez Park, where we found the La Carreta Monument, the Constituents’ Obelisk, and the Centenario Stadium, where soccer’s first FIFA World Cup took place. We also admired the upscale beach neighborhood of Pocitos, with its long stretch of sandy, palm tree–lined beaches lapped by the gentle waves of the Plata River. Our coastal drive took us past elegant hotels and high-rises as we returned to port.
Montevideo’s Old Town by Foot (PM)
We strolled through an eclectic mix of architecture and historic sites
during a walking tour of Montevideo’s Old Town. The area has undergone a major transformation
in the past decade, becoming the premier nightlife center of the city while
still retaining much of its old-world charm. We met our guide and headed to Zabala Square,
the only fenced square in Old Town, and visited the French-style Taranco
Palace, home to the Museum of Decorative Arts. We admired the well-preserved colonial-era
buildings surrounding Constitution Square, and toured the interior of the
18th-century neoclassical Metropolitan Cathedral. After, we browsed the nearby stalls of the
flea market before stopping outside the Solís Theater, the oldest of its kind
in South America. We wandered along the
wide pathways and manicured lawns, and viewed the mausoleum of national hero
General José Gervasio Artigas at Independence Square and Salvo Palace.
Plaza Independencia (Spanish for Independence Square) is the name of Montevideo's most important plaza. It separates Ciudad Vieja (old city) from downtown Montevideo, with the Gateway of The Citadel on one side and the beginning of 18 de Julio avenue on the other. In the center, the Artigas Mausoleum dominates the perspective. Many important buildings, such as the Solís Theatre and the workplaces of the President of Uruguay (both the Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower) are located by this square. One of the characteristic buildings located by the square is Palacio Salvo.
Palacio Salvo (English: Salvo Palace) is a building in Montevideo, Uruguay, located at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia. It was designed by the architect Mario Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, who used a similar design for his Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finished in 1928, Palacio Salvo stands 100 m (330 ft) high with the antenna included. It was the tallest building in Latin America for a brief period.
The site was bought by the Salvo brothers for 650,000 Uruguayan pesos. It was built on the site where the Confiteria La Giralda was once located, a place renowned for being where Gerardo Matos Rodríguez wrote his tango La Cumparsita in 1917. At present, on that same historic site, inside Palacio Salvo, the Tango Museum of Montevideo is open to the public, and exhibits the history of La Cumparsita and of Uruguayan Tango.
The original specifications, describing the details of the construction, describe a lighthouse at the top of the building, which was replaced by a set of antennas. The specifications stated “on the top part of the tower a lighthouse will be placed made by Salmoiraghi of Italy, with a parabolic mirror of 36 inches, reaching approximately 62 miles, and a rotating 100 amp lamp.”
The building was originally intended to be a hotel, but this plan didn't work out, and it has since been occupied by a mixture of offices and private residences. The building has a height of 312 feet. While the set of antennas was at its top, its total height was 330 feet. The antennas were permanently removed in November 2012.
General José Gervasio Artigas
The Executive Tower (Spanish: Torre Ejecutiva) is the workplace of the President of Uruguay. The original project was started in 1965 as a future Palace of Justice, but the 1973 coup d'état interrupted it.
By the time the military government ended in 1985, the building was too small for the Uruguayan justice system, so the project remained halted for decades until in March 2006, President Tabaré Vázquez decided to finish the building and use it as an extension of the Estévez Palace. The President's offices were transferred there from the Liberty Building in September 2009.
Despite the name, the building does not actually belong to the Presidency of Uruguay but to a fully government-owned company called Legader S.A., which is in charge of leasing office space to other public and private organizations to finance the work on the building.
Figures in an office building.
Solís Theatre (Spanish: Teatro Solís) is Uruguay's most important and renowned theater. It opened in 1856 and the building was designed by the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi. It is located in Montevideo's Old Town, right next to the Plaza Independencia.
In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theater, which included two columns designed by Philippe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004 with the re-opening taking place in August of that year. Acoustic studies of the rehabilitation project was entrusted to Jerome Falala of the French studio Avel Acoustique. Tomás Giribaldi's La Parisina, considered the first Uruguayan national opera, was premiered at the Solís on September 14, 1878.
School kids on an orientation.
The Palacio (Legislative Council) is an impressive building made of national marble. The Palacio Legislativo is currently the seat of the Uruguayan Parliament. Construction started in 1904 and was sponsored by the government of President José Batlle y Ordóñez. It was designed by Italian architects Vittorio Meano and Gaetano Moretti, who planned the building's interior. Among the notable contributors to the project was sculptor José Belloni, who contributed numerous reliefs and allegorical sculptures.
Murals a block away from the building entrance.
Juan and Evita Peron.
The Obelisk of Montevideo, officially listed as the Obelisco a los Constituyentes de 1830, is a monument created by sculptor José Luis Zorrilla de San Martín (1891-1975) to dedicate those who created the first Constitution. It is a three-sided obelisk made of granite, 130 feet tall with three bronze statues on its sides, representing "Law," "Liberty," and "Force." It has a hexagonal water fountain around it with six spheres on its outer circumference. It is located at the intersection of 18 de Julio and Artigas Boulevard avenues, in Montevideo, at the entrance of the Parque Batlle area. It was built in 1930 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Constitution of Uruguay and is an homage to the participants of the General Assembly of the first Constitution.
Six years later, a similar but larger monument was built at the intersection of 9 de Julio and Corrientes avenues in Buenos Aires, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city.
The Estadio Centenario, the national football stadium, opened in 1930 for the first World Cup, and later hosted several other sporting grounds of note.
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution. It is listed by FIFA as one of the football world's classic stadiums. On July 18, 1983, it was declared by FIFA as the only historical monument of World Football, the only building of its kind worldwide.
Estadio Centenario is the primary home of the Uruguay national team. Uruguay has always been a threat when playing in their home stadium, consistently beating top teams. Even the top ranked Brazil national football team has only managed three wins in 20 opportunities; two were official matches during 2010 and 2018 World Cup qualification, but one was Uruguay's heaviest defeat at the stadium, when they lost 4–0 to Brazil in 2009.
Parque Batlle (formerly: Parque de los Aliados, translation: "Park of the Allies") is a major public central park, located south of Avenida Italia and north of Avenue Rivera. In 1934, sculptor José Belloni's "La Carreta," a bronze monument on granite base, was installed on Avenida Lorenzo Merola near Estadio Centenario. One of several statues in the park, it depicts yoked oxen pulling a loaded wagon. It was designated a national monument in 1976.
The Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Roman Catholic church of Montevideo, and seat of its archdiocese. It is located right in front of the Cabildo across Constitution Square, in the neighborhood of Ciudad Vieja.
The origin of the church dates from Spanish colonial times (1740), when a church constructed of brick was built on the site. In 1790, the foundation was laid for the construction of the current neoclassical structure. The church was consecrated in 1804; it is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and to the patron saints of Montevideo, Philip and James.
There is one major altar, several side altars, memorials, and tombs of several of the former archbishops and bishops who served in the Cathedral. On a side altar is venerated an image of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, patron saint of Uruguay.
The barrio (neighborhood) is known for its beach, Playa Pocitos, and the Rambla, or boulevard, that lies alongside it. Pocitos is characterized by its apartment buildings of 10 to 15 stories that lie right on the Rambla providing excellent views of the barrio, the beach, and the river.
Playa Pocitos, or Pocitos Beach, is preferred by the teenage population. These beaches are also recognized for their soccer, volleyball, and nautical events and championships. Pocitos is located only 10 minutes away from the center of Montevideo. Along the Rambla can be found many chic and fancy restaurants and shops which attract many people not only from other Barrios of Montevideo but also those from neighboring Argentina and Brazil.
Water remains shallow a long way out.
French-style Taranco Palace, home to the Museum of Decorative Arts.
Palacio Taranco, located in front of the Plaza Zabala, in the heart of the Old City of Montevideo, Uruguay, is a palace erected in the early 20th century during a period in which the architectural style was influenced by French architecture. It was designed by French architects Charles Louis Girault and Jules Chifflot León, who also designed the Petit Palais and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. This building contains European furniture and drapings and currently contains the Museum of Decorative Arts in Montevideo. The palace is often used as a meeting place by the Uruguayan government.
The palace was erected on the site of Montevideo's first theater in the historical center of the city which had been built in 1793. The Taranco Ortiz family commissioned the construction of the building in 1907 and it was completed in 1910. In 1943 the Uruguayan state purchased the residence and part of the furniture and gained access to its works of art, but it wasn't until 1972 that it became a museum, and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
The Museum of Decorative Arts contains various paintings, sculptures, textiles, ornaments, and European furniture. On the ground floor and first floor of the building can be found some of the furniture of Louis XV and Louis XVI finely inlaid. The Decorative Arts Museum has an important collection of Classical Art and Archaeology in the basement, consisting of artifacts of ceramics, glass, and bronzes and various items related to Greco-Roman and Near East art and archaeology. The museum also has collections of various textiles, from Persian curtains to Flemish tapestries, and has various ointments, oils, and perfumes.
Extremely heavy marble.
Beautiful court yard.
Oops; somehow got lost in New Orleans - but this is a French barrio.
Main street of the old city.
City market.
Better view of office building designed like a sail on a boat.
This evening we will be off to Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
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