Samay Huasi (from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

''Samay Wasi'', ''samay'' rest, to rest, ''wasi'' house,Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) "rest house") is a historic property in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

functioning as both a vacation retreat, as well as a museum.

Overview

Located in

Chilecito Chilecito is a city in the Argentine province of La Rioja, and head of the department of Chilecito. Overview The city is located in the valley formed by the ''Sierras de Velazco'' to the east, and the ''Sierras de Famatina'' to the west. The c ...

, a town located high in the Pampas Sierras of La Rioja Province, the property originally belonged to William Treloar, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

who purchased it as a retirement property in the late 19th century. His earlier profession had acquainted him with Dr.

Joaquín V. González Joaquín Víctor González (March 6, 1863 – December 21, 1923) was an Argentine educator, political scientist, writer, magistrate, and politician. Biography Early life González was born in Nonogasta, a rural community near Chilecito, ...

, who was one of the nation's most prominent Mining Law attorneys, and had been Governor of La Rioja from 1889 to 1891. Treloar bequeathed ''La Carrera'', his scenic

finca In English usage, a ''finca'' (; ) refers to a piece of rural or agricultural land, typically with a cottage, farmhouse or estate building present, and often adjacent to a woodland or plantation. Overview Especially in tourism, the term has r ...

, to his friend, and González inherited the property in 1913. The new owner kept Treloar's

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s, expanded the living quarters, converted the

horse stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

s into ten bedrooms for each of his sons, and renamed the finca ''Samay Huasi''. González, who served as President of the

University of La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over 90 ...

from 1905 to 1913, in turn willed Samay Huasi to the university, and died in 1923. The University of La Plata formally took possession of Samay Huasi in 1941, and originally maintained it as the ''Casa de Descanso para Artistas y Escritores'', a vacation lodge for artists and writers; the lodge was later reserved of university staff. A portion was set aside in 1960 for the establishment of a museum displaying González's collections of

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

material, as well as his numerous manuscripts (he published over 50 books and 1,000 articles), and other belongings. The museum was named ''Mis Montañas'' in honor of González's 1903 book describing the nearby

Talampaya Talampaya National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Talampaya) is a national park located in the east/centre of La Rioja Province, Argentina. It was designated a provincial reserve in 1975, a national park in 1997, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in ...

area and other

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

landscapes. Samay Huasi also houses an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, the Antonio Alice

Pinacotheca A pinacotheca (Latin borrowing from grc, πινακοθήκη, pinakothēkē = grc, πίναξ, pinax, (painted) board, tablet, label=none + grc, θήκη, thēkē, box, chest, label=none) was a picture gallery in either ancient Greece or anc ...

. Named for Antonio Alice, an Argentine portraiteur and historical painter who (among many other works) had created a portrait of González in 1917, the gallery displays art from a variety of

Argentine painters Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

Notes

References

Ente Municipal de Turismo de Chilecito. Museo y Sitios de Interés: Museo Samay Huasi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samay Huasi, Museo Houses completed in the 19th century Museums in La Rioja Province, Argentina Tourist attractions in Argentina Houses in Argentina Museums established in 1960 Art museums and galleries in Argentina University museums in Argentina Natural history museums in Argentina Literary museums in Argentina Biographical museums in Argentina Historic house museums in Argentina National University of La Plata