Plaza 25 de Mayo ("May 25 Square"; ) is a

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

(urban square) in Rosario,

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Santa Fe,

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 ...

. It is Rosario's

civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

, and the core of the original settlement. Its name alludes to the date (25 May 1810) of the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

, which led to the establishment of the first local Argentine government in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Before 1852, when this name was adopted, it was simply called ''Plaza Principal'' ("Main Square"). Plaza 25 de Mayo is located on the eastern edge of the present-day downtown area, not far from the Paraná River, and occupies the block defined by Santa Fe St., Buenos Aires St., Laprida St. and Córdoba St. East of the plaza lie the seat of the executive branch of Rosario's municipal government, called

Palacio de los Leones ''Palacio de los Leones'' (Spanish, Palace of the Lions) is the name of the main municipal building of the city of Rosario, Argentina. The Palace is the seat of the executive branch of the municipal government. It is located at the corner of Bu ...

, and the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, seat of the Archdiocese of Rosario. These buildings are separated by a pedestrian passage called Pasaje Juramento, leading to the National Flag Memorial. The Memorial's propylaeum and stone tower can thus be clearly seen from the plaza. At the center of the plaza there is a monumental column dedicated to national freedom (''Columna à la Libertad''), with a statue representing Liberty standing on top, and surrounded by the statues of national heroes

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

and

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

, journalist and independence activist

Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution. Moreno was b ...

, and first Argentine president

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at t ...

. The monument, which dates from 1883, was sculpted by Alejandro Biggi in

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. Prior to that, since 25 May 1855, its place was occupied by Argentina's first monument to the national constitution of 1853.

Mothers of the Plaza 25 de Mayo

Every Thursday, the Mothers of the Plaza 25 de Mayo, a human rights group named for the plaza, demonstrates in the Plaza 25 de Mayo to call for justice for their children and other victims of

forced disappearances An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...

from

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R� ...

References

External links

La Guía de Rosario

Agenda Turismo

Ente de Turismo Rosario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaza 25 De Mayo (Rosario) 25 de Mayo