Argentine National Congress and Confitería del Molino

Why is it significant?

We conclude our journey along the historic civic axis before the imposing neoclassical facade of the Argentine National Congress, facing the restored Art Nouveau masterpiece Confitería del Molino across Avenida Callao.

Key Facts

Open the walk

We conclude our journey along the historic civic axis before the imposing neoclassical facade of the Argentine National Congress, facing the restored Art Nouveau masterpiece Confitería del Molino across Avenida Callao. Designed by Italian architect Vittorio Meano and inaugurated in 1906, the Congress Palace is clad in silver-gray Carrara marble and granite, fronted by six colossal Corinthian columns. Soaring eighty meters into the Buenos Aires sky is an eighty-meter oxidized copper dome, weighing more than thirty thousand metric tons and gleaming in an unmistakable emerald-green hue.

Look above the front portico at the dramatic eight-meter bronze sculptural group: an allegorical winged Victory driving an ancient four-horse chariot, sculpted by Venetian artist Victor de Pol.

Behind these monumental bronze doors, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies debate the laws that have governed the republic through democratic renaissances and turbulent political crises. Now turn your gaze across the intersection to the corner of Rivadavia and Callao: there stands the magnificent Confitería del Molino, inaugurated in 1916 by Italian architect Francesco Gianotti. Topped by a fantastical five-story tower with stained-glass windmill blades that turn in the breeze, this glamorous Art Nouveau café was known for decades as the third chamber of congress, where senators and deputies gathered to negotiate political coalitions over champagne and delicate pastries. After falling into neglect in 1997, it underwent a meticulous state restoration that revived its exquisite stained glass, bronze lamps, and hand-carved mahogany counters.

Standing between the emerald dome of Congress and the spinning windmill of El Molino, you feel the enduring grand scale and civic soul of Buenos Aires. Looking down the broad perspective of Avenida de Mayo back toward the presidential palace, you realize that this grand axis truly serves as the beating political and architectural heart of the entire Argentine republic.

This completes our walk along Avenida de Mayo; continue exploring the vibrant cafe culture and theaters of nearby Avenida Corrientes.