San Pedro, full name ''Rincón de San Pedro Dávila de los Arrecifes'', is a city and port in the

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Argentina, beside 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. ...

. It is one of five ''localidades'' in the Partido de San Pedro and its administrative seat. It is 164 km from

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 ...

via National Route 9, and 141 km from

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

Economy

San Pedro is located in the industrial corridor between

and

, and is readily accessible to both via National Highway 9, as well as by the Mitre Railway Line. Natural harbors along San Pedro's Paraná River shores contributed to its early development as a trading hub, and later to its industrial base, and the city is today home to an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. Among the service sector activities that stand out in San Pedro is tourism, since the city is a frequent weekend destination for visitors from Buenos Aires. San Pedro draws tourism with its well-preserved nineteenth century architecture, as well as from the surrounding natural beauty. A

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

and numerous riverfront hotels have opened in recent decades, notably a

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson by Wyndham, still commonly referred to as Howard Johnson's, is an American hotel brand with over 200 hotels in 15 countries. It was also formerly a Chain store, restaurant chain, which at one time was the largest in the U.S., wit ...

, and San Pedro is a leading regional destination for

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

enthusiasts in Argentina. San Pedro is known for its fruit production, being the main products

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

s and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es, in that order. Another typical product from San Pedro is the ''

ensaïmada The ''ensaïmada'' is a pastry product from Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, commonly found in southwestern Europe, Latin America and the Philippines. The ''ensaïmada de Mallorca'' is made with strong flour, water, sugar, eggs, mother doug ...

'', a pastry of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

n origin, and the city has been declared "National Capital of the Argentine Ensaimada."

History

The foundation of San Pedro can be traced to 1637, when a document signed by Pedro Esteban Dávila (Knight of the Order of Santiago, Governor and General Captain), established an outpost on the site, and with its current name. The land was deeded to Captain Juan Gutiérrez de Humanes in 1641 for his services to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

. San Pedro began as a settlement on August 26, 1748, when construction began on the ''Antigüo Convento Recoleto de Franciscanos'', around which the original settlement developed. The parish of San Pedro was created in 1778, and on December 30, 1784, the ''Partido'' (County) was officially established. The historic

Battle of Vuelta de Obligado The Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place on 20 November 1845, in the waters of the Paraná River, on its right bank and in the north of the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina), in a bend where the river narrows and turns, known as Vuelta de ...

took place on the town's Paraná River shores on November 20, 1845. The city is home to a sizable

Italian Argentine Italian Argentines (; , or ''tanos'' in Rioplatense Spanish) are Argentine-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Argentina during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people ...

community, who established the local ''Sociedad Italiana de Unión y Benevolencia'', a charitable organization, in 1873. San Pedro was officially designated as a city by the Provincial Legislature on July 25, 1907. A former

Querandí The Querandí were one of the Het peoples, indigenous South Americans who lived in the Pampas area of Argentina; specifically, they were the eastern Didiuhet (Diuihet). The name Querandí was given by the Guaraní people, as they would consume ...

settlement, a vestige of the area's original inhabitants, was unearthed nearby by archaeologists in 1965. The nation's largest

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has ...

maker,

Papel Prensa Papel Prensa S.A. is an Argentine manufacturing company, being the largest producer of newsprint in the country. The company furnishes 58% of the local market in the staple. The public–private partnership became the focus of one of a series of c ...

, established its principal facility in San Pedro in 1978.

Culture

The city is home to an active trade by

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

s; the host a weekly fair on the ''Parque Artistico'', and a selection of their works can be seen in the ''Sueño del Tano'' Museum. Other local museums include the Museum of Paleontology, the Fernando García Curten Museum, and the Osvaldo "Pato" Morresi Museum; Morresi (1952 — 94) was a champion

Turismo Carretera Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the 2nd oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. ...

stock car racer Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the souther ...

. San Pedro has six FM radio stations, cable television service, and the newspapers ''El Imparcial'', ''El Diario de San Pedro'', and the weekly ''La Opinión''.

Sanpedrinos fallen in the Falklands War

Numerous Sanpedrinos fought in the ill-fated

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

of 1982, and in 2005, the City Council passed a resolution in their honor. These included: *Sbert, Mateo Antonio (1964-†1982): Assistant Sergeant in the Engineers Corps. Fought in the Comandos Company 602, and died in combat on the zone of Top Malo House, near Bluff Cove. *Magliotti, Sergio Daniel (1964-†1982): Sergeant, 2nd class, of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

in the cruiser , sunk by the Royal Navy submarine . His body lies in the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Surviving local veterans of the Falklands War

*Ancharek, Domingo Faustino (1962):

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

, 3rd Infantry Machinery Corps. Fought in Sapper Hill. *Azimonti, Pablo Enrique (1962): Army, Logistic Battalion 10. Fought in Cerro Dos Hermanas. *Cano, Sergio Rubén (1963): Navy, Nursery assistant on the ARA ''Bahía Paraíso'',

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

, *Martínez, Jorge Pablo (1962): Navy, Cruise ARA ''General Manuel Belgrano'' gunner, sunk by torpedoes from the submarine HMS ''Conqueror''. Marooned on a raft for 48 hs, and rescued by the ARA ''Gurruchaga'',

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxili ...

. *Montorfano, Adrian Oscar (1962): Army, Chief of the 3rd Infantry Machinery Corps, La Tablada. Fought in Sapper Hill and Monte William. *Novaro, Domingo Ángel (1961): Army, Mounted Grenadier, Coronel Pringles Squad. Fought in Cerro Dos Hermanas; operator-aimer of Browning MAG 7,62 mm next the Infantry Corp 4. *Ramírez, Raúl Horacio (1962): Navy, ARA ''General Manuel Belgrano'' gunner. Fought in the South Atlantic theater; sank, and rescued by the ARA ''Bahía Paraíso'' after 48 hs on a raft. *Ríos, Victor Hugo (1962): Army, ARA ''General Manuel Belgrano''. Rescued after 48 hs on a raft by the ARA ''Bahía Paraíso''. *Saucedo, Javier Huber (1963):

Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

, Río Gallegos Air Base. Fought in the Puerto Argentino Airport (

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

), operating a bitube canon 20 mm.San Pedro City Council homage
/ref>

Climate

Historic buildings

*''Nuestra Señora del Socorro'' Church, 1872, in

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

style. *Municipal Palace, with its Regional Museum. *Ramos Generales Dutra (

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

); created in 1865, was declared by the City Council as a "Place of Local Historical Interest." *The Rafael Obligado Popular Library, established in 1872 and housed in an Italianate building completed in 1921. *The site of the 1845

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1748