Villa de Merlo is a small city in the

Department of Junín Junín () is a department and region in the central highlands and westernmost Peruvian Amazon. Its capital is Huancayo. Geography The region has a very heterogeneous topography. The western range located near the border with the Lima Reg ...

, Province of San Luis, Argentina. It is administered by an intendant, presently former Provincial Senator Gloria Petrino.Ministerio del Interior
The town lies 796 meters above sea level. The demotic for Merlo is "merlino". Merlo is the third most populated country town in the province. The weather is mostly mild and dry, with little wind, and the area has a number of streams.

Location

Merlo is located 751 kilometers from

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

by the principal highway of the region, National Route 8 ( Autopista Acceso Norte, Pilar,

Pergamino Pergamino () is an Argentine city in the Province of Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 104,985 inhabitants as per the and is the administrative seat of its county, Pergamino Partido. Its UN/LOCODE is ARPGO. History Long valued for its m ...

Venado Tuerto Venado Tuerto () (Spanish for ''One Eyed Deer'') is a city in the south-west of the , 322 km from the provincial capital. It has about 76,000 inhabitants (). History Venado Tuerto was founded on April 26, 1884 by Eduardo Casey, born in ...

, toward Río Cuarto, and from there by Ruta Provincial 1 to Villa de Merl

. Merlo is located 250 km from Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba, 650 km from the city of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

; 460 km from the city of Mendoza, and comparable distances from

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a ...

. Valle del Conlara airport, from Merlo, was opened at the end of 2001. Additionally, the system of ground transport includes long-distance coaches which travel from different parts of the country to the new terminal in Merlo.

Tourism

Villa de Merlo is a tourist area with Argentinian nationals, but is less known to Europeans and American, although it has a small ex-pat community. *La Villa Colonial ("the colonial town"), whose settlement began at the end of the eighteenth century at Piedra Blanca, includes the chapel of ''Nuestra Señora del Rosario'' ("Our Lady of the Rosary"), a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

and one of the oldest buildings in the country. *La Villa Veraniega ("the summertime town") possesses an important infrastructure to support tourism.

Attractions

* "El Algarrobo Abuelo" ("the Grandfather Carob Tree") is a tree more than a thousand years old and measuring more than 6 meters. It has five very thick branches, some of which now touch the soil. * Piedra Blanca, village * Pasos Malos, on the outskirts of Merlo, is near Pasos Malos is Peñón del Colorado, with views of the Conlara valley. * The resort of

Rincón del Este Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

, with a municipal camping site, a reservoir, and hotels. This area has swimming holes where El Rincón stream passes through. *

Paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness o ...

, because of suitable conditions for the sport. * Wildlife includes the Puma and the Andian Condor

Holidays

*"Fiesta Nacional del Valle del Sol" (''National Festival of the Valley of the Sun'') *Folklore festival, held in February *"Fiesta de la Dulzura" (''Festival of Sweetness'') *"Fiesta de la Rosa" (''Rose Festival'') *"Fiesta Nacional del Microclima" (''National Festival of the Microclimate'') *"Encuentro Decir por la Madera" (''Gathering to talk about wood'') *"Encuentro Nacional de Pintores Paisajistas" (''National Gathering of Landscape Painters'') *"Encuentro de Arquitectos" (''Gathering of Architects'')

History

In 1794, Juan de Videla visited Piedra Blanca and saw that the place was suitable for the foundation of a town, as he afterward informed the Marquess of Sobremonte. On October 1, 1796, Sobremonte ordered the formalization of its foundation, under the name of Villa de Melo ("Town of Melo"), given in honor of

Pedro Melo Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. On the morning of January 1, 1797, the townsfolk witnessed the formal foundation of their town. The ceremony took place in front of the chapel, beside an image of the Virgin of the Rosary. (At the same time, Saint Augustine was chosen to be the patron saint of the town.) The name of the town was altered over time and became Villa de Merlo. One may see, in Marqués de Sobremonte square, plaques which commemorate the ceremonial founding of the town, and he may visit the old communal well and the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario nearby.

Population

The census of 2001 showed a total population of 11,159, an increase of 84% over the 6,079 of the previous census, in 1991. This figure includes the populations of Piedrablanca, Barranca Colorada, El Rincón, and El Rincón del Este. The population is 95% of European descent, with the remainder Native and Spanish mix. There is a small but thriving community of Americans, Germans and British expats who have made their homes and fortunes in Merlo.

References

External links

VillaDeMerlo.gov.ar Official government siteCuyoNoticias digital newspaper (English-Spanish)Cabin rentals in Merlo
* Buying property or vacation rental in Villa de Merlo go to http://www.merlovillas.com/index.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Merlo Tourism in Argentina Populated places in San Luis Province