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buenos aires: visiting the casa rosada

Buenos Aires, Casa Rosada

Buenos Aires has its share of iconic buildings & ranking near the top of the list would be the Casa de Gobierno, more popularly known as the Casa Rosada. Let’s just say it: either you like pink or you don’t… not much room for middle ground. In a previous incarnation of this blog, I chronicled the restoration of the building & will have to repost that info later. For now, suffice it to say that the Casa Rosada got a new coat of paint & a lot interior work during Kirchner’s term. For a fascinating & detailed look at the architectural history of the building, Pablo Juan Chiesa has done an amazing amount of research (in Spanish).

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coimbra: portugal dos pequenitos

Portugal, Coimbra, Portugal dos Pequenitos, Cassiano Branco

Behind the recently restored Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Velha sits what most people consider to be a kids’ attraction. But this playground of miniature monuments, tiny houses & museum displays from around the world —Portugal dos Pequenitos— was designed to do a lot more than entertain children. Built under the Salazar regime from 1937 to 1961 by architect Cassiano Branco, this compact display of the best of Portugal transmits a message that few people understand today.

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buenos aires: confitería del molino

Buenos Aires, Confitería del Molino, Francisco Gianotti

In the past ten years, Buenos Aires has come a long way in terms of preserving city heritage. New organizations have formed, especially on neighborhood level, keeping watch over the city’s buildings & blowing the whistle when sneaky developers try to destroy what makes BA so unique. That said, one particular building sums up everything wrong about the city’s attitude toward conservation: the Confitería del Molino.

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buenos aires: alejandro christophersen

Alejandro Christophersen, Bolsa, Buenos Aires, staircase, escalera
● Stock market, Buenos Aires – photo courtesy BCBA

Since I’ve become such a fan of Buenos Aires architecture, I’ll begin a series of posts about our best architects in order to highlight who have made BA such a joy to walk around. There’s no better place to start than the grandfather of all BA architects, Alejandro Christophersen.

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buenos aires: churches

Buenos Aires, Argentina, churches, iglesias, dome, cúpula

Being Easter Sunday, what better time to write about churches in Buenos Aires? Easter is probably my least favorite holiday of the year as it brings back memories of being dragged unwillingly to church… be it Lutheran, Methodist or Presbyterian. It never mattered much since we didn’t attend service any other day of the year. Seriously. However, after 12 years of extended stays in Spain & Portugal —plus living in Argentina for over 10 years— I may as well be Catholic by default.

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