San Ignacio Miní was one of the many missions founded in 1610 in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, by the

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in what the colonial

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

called the Province of Paraguay of the

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during the Spanish colonial period. It is located near present-day San Ignacio valley, some north of Posadas,

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

. In 1984, it was one of four '' reducciones'' in Argentina to be designated by

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s.List of World Heritage Sites
UNESCO

History

The original mission was erected near the year 1610 by

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priests José Cataldino and Simón Maceta in the region called '' Guayrá'' by the natives and ''La Pinería'' by the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es in present Paraná State,

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. Because of the constant attacks of the

Bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

, the mission moved in 1632, and did not settle in its current location until 1696. It was called San Ignacio Miní (''minor'' in Guaraní) to distinguish it from the larger mission, San Ignacio Guazú (''great''), in

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 ...

. In the 18th century, the mission had a population of around 3000 people, mostly indigenous peoples. They produced rich cultural and handicraft products, which the Spanish commercialized by trade via the nearby

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. ...

. After the

Suppression of the Society of Jesus The suppression of the Society of Jesus was the removal of all members of the Jesuits from most of Western Europe and their respective colonies beginning in 1759 along with the abolition of the order by the Holy See in 1773; the papacy acceded ...

in 1767, the Jesuits left the mission a year later. Luso-Brazilian forces destroyed the mission in 1817, as well as other missions in the area, in the war against the independent movement in the Banda Oriental.Robert H. Jackson: ''Communities on a Frontier in Conflict: The Jesuit Guaraní Mission Los Santos.'' Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2018, , p. 55. The ruins are one of the best preserved among the several built in the territory of the Province of

, which today is divided among

and

. Due to its accessibility, it is one of the most visited. Overgrown by dense vegetation, the remains of the mission, built in the " Guaraní

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

" style, were found in 1897. It attracted greater popular interest after the 1903 expedition to the site by poet

Leopoldo Lugones Leopoldo Antonio Lugones Argüello (13 June 1874 – 18 February 1938) was an Argentine poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, professor, translator, biographer, philologist, theologian, diplomat, politician and journalist. His poetic ...

. The government did not undertake formal exploration and restoration until 1940. Originally the main square was bounded by the church, a cabildo, a cemetery, a monastery and some houses. The magnificent church with 74 metres length and 24 metres width was designed by Italian priest Juan Brasanelli, and build using the local red sandstone. The width of the walls are around 2 metres, what in spite of the fragile material let the constructions remain standing after over two centuries. In 1984 the ruins were declared as a

. The site is the location of the ''Museo Jesuítico de San Ignacio Miní'' museum, constructed after the international recognition. Other Jesuit missions' sites in the Misiones Province designated as World Heritage Sites the same year include ''Reducción de Santa Ana'', ''Santa María La Mayor'', and ''Nuestra Señora de Loreto''. San Ignacio Miní was included in the inaugural 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, drawing attention to the urgency of needed repairs and a full preservation plan. With funding from

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

,"Vientos de esperanza en las ruinas jesuíticas"
''La Nación,'' July 27, 1997. the lateral (eastern) portal was restored. Since then, the main portal of the mission has also been restored, and an interpretation center has been constructed. An international conference on the future of the site has taken place.

References

External links

*
Jesuit Missions in South America

Misiones' Tourist office

La imborrable huella evangelizadora

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

UNESCO's World Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Ignacio Mini 1632 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru Buildings and structures in Misiones Province Former populated places in Argentina Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis Spanish missions in Argentina Tourist attractions in Misiones Province World Heritage Sites in Argentina

History

See also

References

External links