Itatí is a town in the north of the

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

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

, Argentina. It has 7,902 inhabitants as per the . It lies some 60 km east of the provincial capital

, by the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

, not far upstream from its confluence with the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani language, Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bol ...

, on the northern provincial border, which is also the international border with

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. The origin of Itatí was a reduction (indigenous town) established on 7 December 1615 by

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar

Luis de Bolaños Luis de Bolaños (1549? – 11 October 1629) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary evangelist, initiator of the system of reductions (indigenous towns) in Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Early life Bolaños was born in Marchena, ...

, with the name of Pura y Limpia Concepción de Nuestra Señora de Itatí. The proper foundation of Itatí as a town was by general Pedro Ferré, on 15 September 1825. Despite its small size, Itatí is renowned throughout the country due to the massive displays of devotion to the local advocation of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The physical center of these is the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

(built in 1950), which preserves an allegedly miraculous wooden image of the Virgin of Itatí. On her feast day, 16 July, thousands of pilgrims from nearby and faraway regions, and even from neighbouring countries, come to Itatí to venerate the Virgin. The name ''Itatí'' comes from

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

, but there is disagreement as to its exact meaning; ''ita-'' undoubtedly corresponds to the Guaraní word for "stone" (appearing in a number of other

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

, such as '' Itaipu''), while the last part could refer to ''(moro)ti'' ("white") or ''tí'' ("nose").

References

* * Argentina Total
Corrientes - Itatí
* Web site
Itati Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itati, Corrientes Populated places in Corrientes Province Paraná River Cities in Argentina