Recoleta

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Recoleta

La "Recoleta" is a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. It is a very important historic area, much frequented by tourists and the city's residents for its cafés, galleries and the famous Recoleta cemetery.

Recoleta is part of the area called "Barrio Norte" (northern neighbourhood), together with the barrios of Retiro, Palermo and Balvanera. Like its neighbours, Recoleta is an affluent residential district, initially populated by citizens escaping the 1871 yellow fever epidemic. Recoleta is one of the most expensive places to live in Buenos Aires, both in terms of real estate and of the cost of living. Even dying here is costly, as mausolea in the Recoleta cemetery cost thousands of dollars each.

Some distinguished "bóvedas" (crypts)
Photo by: Jörgen Lindh

Recoleta centers on a square in front of the Cemetery and the neighbouring Basilica of "Nuestra Señora del Pilar". This was a relatively high point on the banks of the river and served as a hiding place for bandits in the 17th century. In the early 18th century, French Franciscans known as the "Padres Recoletos" built a chapel and a convent in the area. The Jesuits also arrived and built the Basilica, completed in 1732. This colonial-style church is fitted with a magnificent Baroque altar, brought from Perú, decorated with silver and pre-Hispanic ornamentation from Jujuy province.
 

The barrio has been referred to as the "Paris of the Americas". Many French-style palaces and villas were built in the area and the verdant squares are known for their cafés. Recoleta hosts one of the best and most expensive hotels in Latin America, the five-star Hotel Alvear, a grand 1932 palace. Nearby are other mansions built by the most important families of Buenos Aires, some used as embassies. Café La Biela is one of the city's most famous cafés and is patronized by authors, politicians, and other celebrities. On the square facing the cemetery is an enormous rubber tree; its huge tentacle-like lower branches cast shade over La Biela's popular terrace. Known as the "Gran Gomero", it was planted in 1878 and is 50 metres wide.
 

The Recoleta Cemetery's status as a tourist attraction is rivaled by few; some compare it to "Père Lachaise" in Paris. It was designed by Próspero Catelin of France, following a proposal by Bernardino Rivadavia, and opened in 1822 as a public cemetery for ordinary citizens. Now it hosts many former Presidents and, most famously, Eva Perón, in mausolea of marble, bronze and granite.