Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Picking a Saint
The city's early settlers thought that a
Spanish saint would be appropriate for this
Spanish city, and a “scientific” method of
drawing saints names out of a hat was em-
ployed. Every slip of paper picked revealed
the name of Martin of Tours so the frus-
trated Argentineans accepted Saint Martin
as the protector of the city.
President
Menem, born to
the Muslim
faith, converted
to Catholicism.
To this day, the law states that the President of
Argentina must be a Catholic. A beautiful gar-
den adjoins the cathedral.
The last historic site in the plaza and the one
most closely associated with the city is the
Cabildo
. It functioned as the Town Hall in
colonial times and served as the working offices
of the Spanish Viceroys who governed here for
hundreds of years. It was the headquarters for
the first independent government of Argentina
as well. The Cabildo museum contains exhibits
of artifacts from the colonial period and docu-
ments and memorabilia related to Argentina's
independence.
Plaza de los Dos Congresos
A dozen short blocks separate the executive
branch of government from the legislative one.
The most direct walk is to follow
Avenida de
Mayo
, the oldest official avenue in the city.
Inaugurated in 1894 and designed to link the
two plazas, the street became a magnet for lav-
