Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo
Print
Email
Save to Favorites
Trip Ideas
View This Map
--- Click to Enlarge ---
Since late colonial times, the mid-18th-century Dominican church (also known as Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario) at Avenida Belgrano and Defensa has witnessed some of Argentine history’s most dramatic events.
It still displays banners captured by Viceroy Santiago Liniers from the Highlanders Regiment No. 71 during the 1806 British invasion, and the exterior shows combat damage from the British occupation of 1807.
Near the church entrance, an eternal flame burns near sculptor Héctor Ximenes’s Mausoleo de Belgrano (1903), the crypt of Argentina’s second-greatest hero; Belgrano was an indifferent soldier, but he did design the Argentine flag.
Following independence, President Bernardino Rivadavia secularized the church, making it a natural history museum and turning one of its towers into an astronomical observatory. In 1955, during the coup against Juan Perón, anticlerical Peronists set it afire.
© Wayne Bernhardson from Moon Argentina, 3rd edition
Buy Moon Travel Guides
Search
Moon Travel Guides make independent travel and outdoor exploration fun and accessible. With expert and adventurous travel writers delivering a mix of honest insight, first-rate strategic travel advice, insider travel tips and an essential dose of humor, Moon Travel Guides ensure that travelers have an uncommon and entirely satisfying experience. Each travel book is filled with unique trip ideas, easy-to-use maps, and detailed information on sights, restaurants, and accommodations. Moon Travel Guides not only point you in the right direction, they inspire new ideas and adventure. Whether you are seeking a relaxing beach trip to Hawaii, or an adventure travel trip to the rainforests of Costa Rica, Moon guidebooks—and Moon.com—are with you every step of the way. Founded in 1973, the Moon Travel Guides series includes Moon Handbooks, Moon Outdoors, Moon Metro, Moon Living Abroad and Moon Spotlight travel books. Moon is based in Berkeley, California and is a proud member of the Perseus Books Group.