San Martín is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the north-center part of the Mendoza Province 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 ...

. It is the capital of the San Martín Department and constitutes, with Palmira and La Colonia, the third-largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in the province.

History

The first San Martín inhabitants were the Huarpe Milkayak people. The territory was governed by the tribal chief called Pallamay until 1563, when the first Europeans under the command of the Captain Pedro Moyano Cornejo, arrived to the area. The city was known as ''Rodeo de Moyano'' or, alternatively, as ''La Reducción'' ( Spanish: ''The Reduction''); but its name was changed to ''Villa Los Barriales'' in 1816, when it was included in the Corocorto Priesthood of Mendoza Province and officially established by the Governor of Mendoza, Toribio de Luzuriaga. San Martín came into prominence in the war of the Argentine independence period, when José de San Martín received an extensive land grant in the area to take advantage of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and help the Chilean army of Bernardo O'Higgins in an effort to prevent new Spanish invasions from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

to Argentina. In 1823, the governor Pedro Molina changed the name of the city yet again in homage to the Argentine general José de San Martín,San Martín was the first city in South America named in homage to José de San Martín. who, besides his inestimable historical role, contributed many innovations to the local

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

sector and in viticulture, particularly. In 1885, the first railway arrived in San Martin, uniting

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

with Mendoza and Chile. This development brought many Italian immigrants to the area from

; during the 1950s and '60s, National Route 7 was built between Buenos Aires and Mendoza Province, converting the city into an important distribution center along the most important highway between Buenos Aires and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Geography

Climate

References

* :es:San Martín (Mendoza)

Notes

External links