Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
de los Andes
(Army of the Andes) swore alle-
giance to the Argentine Flag and named the
Virgin of Carmen of the Cuyo their patron and
protector. The city's first
cabildo
or town hall
was on the east block of the plaza. Also here are
the only remains of the original city following
the devastating earthquake of 1861, the
San
Francisco Ruins
. Built by the Jesuits in 1638,
the church and its adjacent school were later
ceded to the Franciscan Fathers following the
expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767. The church
was seriously damaged in 1782 by the first
earthquake which destroyed the city.
Also here is the
Museo de Area Fundacional
(
425-6927).
Walking south on Ituzaingó, you'll be alongside
the
Parque Bernardo O'Higgins
with its
gardens, numerous species of trees and open
meadows. Also here is the outdoor
Teatro
Gabriela Mistral
, which hosts outdoor cul-
tural activities all summer long.
Gabriela Mis-
tral (1889-
1957), a Chilean
poet, was the
first Latin
American to
receive the
Nobel Prize for
literature.
Turn right onto Calle Corrientes and continue
west. The modern home on the corner of
Corrientes and Calle José Federico Moreno
occupies the site where General San Martín
and his wife Remedios de Escaleda lived while
he was governor of Mendoza from 1814 to 1816
and the birthplace of their daughter
Merceditas.
The flag of the
Ejército de los
Andes was
embroidered
there.
Four blocks later you'll come to
Avenida San
Martín
, one of the principal thoroughfares of
the city. The park-like promenade running
