Argentina – Rosario's Churches and Urban Museum

Rosario is one of Argentina's cultural cities and has much to offer in terms of murals as well as historical buildings like the Anglican Church. Two blocks down on Santa Fe and Sarmiento starts another walking tour, focussing on protected architecture of Rosario. Or pick one of the other walking tours around Rosario's historic buildings. Rosario is also Argentina's most important city for the yearly celebration of Flag Day.

Enjoy a walking tour around the urban museum of Rosario with murals by local painters, an Anglican church, historic buildings and Che Guevara's house of birth. Cross the street to the Aduana. The ground floor of the Aduana has been there since 1874, the rest was added in 1938. The hall houses a permanent exhibition with beautiful black & white photos depicting life in Rosario around 1900. Leave the building by the back, on Urquiza.

Walking Tour Along Rosario's Urban Museum With Murals of Local Painters

Follow Urquiza westwards. In the first street on the left [Cabral], take a peek at the urban museum mural on the wall of the Majestic Hotel – a painting of an elderly lady, by the Rosarion painter Antonio Berni. Continue on Urquiza and on the right side is the "Bandoneón" by Rosarion artist Julio Vanzo; further down there are two more paintings on the left. Notice how in the second one the windows of the building are completely incorporated in the painting [by Juan Berlengieri]. Most murals are on or around Urquiza Street but they are elsewhere in the city as well.

Walking Tour Along Che Guevara's House of Birth and Rosario's Anglican Church

While Che Guevara's name is famous, it is not commonly known that his place of birth was here, in Rosario. On the corner with Entre Ríos Street stands the Parisian-style apartment where Ernesto Che Guevara was born. Two blocks further down on Urquiza, squeezed between the towering flats of the 21st century, stands find the picturesque, brick Anglican church of St. Bartholomew, dating from 1874.

Take a left onto Paraguay and stop at number 750. What does the façade tell? Certainly not that in earlier days the building belonged to some Catholic, religious order and was a place where the monks ate. But according to the guard that is what it was. Rosario's historic buildings all have their own stories. Often there is someone – an owner, guard, employee – who will proudly show visitors around inside a building, telling its tale. One can be surprised how much of the former wealth is still visible – stained glass, carved doorpanels, mosaic floors, tiled walls, etc.

Notice also the differences in for example latticework, from Jugendstil to Art Deco to amalgams of traditional and modern styles.

A Hidden Church Downtown Rosario

Continue on Paraguay up to the peatonal [pedestrian area] with Córdoba. Turn left, follow Córdoba for two blocks, and take a left onto Entre Ríos. The huge white construction houses La Universidad de Belles Artes y Humanidad. It's dilapidated and dirty, but the marble stairs still give it an air of a rich past. Ask for directions to the library because here lies the hidden treasure of this building – concealed amidst the chaos of the University there is complete silence in the library which is housed in an old, whitewashed church.