Plazoleta Pellegrini and French Embassy in Palacio Ortiz Basualdo
Why is it significant?
Standing in the elegant triangular clearing of Plazoleta Carlos Pellegrini, you have reached the southern climax of Avenida Alvear, framed by three of the grandest private palaces ever constructed in Argentina.
Key Facts
| Place | Plazoleta Pellegrini and French Embassy in Palacio Ortiz Basualdo |
|---|---|
| Address | Cerrito & Alvear, C1010 CABA, Argentina |
| Geo Coordinates | -34.59180, -58.38280 |
| Part of Walk | Recoleta Cemetery, Belle Époque Palaces, and Cultural Grandeur: The Paris of South America |
| Generated | Generated |
Standing in the elegant triangular clearing of Plazoleta Carlos Pellegrini, you have reached the southern climax of Avenida Alvear, framed by three of the grandest private palaces ever constructed in Argentina. At the center of the square rises the heroic bronze monument to Carlos Pellegrini, President of Argentina from 1890 to 1892, sculpted in 1914 by French artist Félix Charpentier. But the undisputed architectural star of the square is the monumental mansion looming on the northern flank at Cerrito 1399: the Palacio Ortiz Basualdo, seat of the Embassy of France.
Look closely at the dramatic circular corner pavilion of the French Embassy: its curved facade is crowned by a high bell-shaped dome clad in zinc and slate, reminiscent of seventeenth-century Parisian hôtels particuliers.
Designed in 1912 by French architect Paul Pater for wealthy aristocrats Daniel Ortiz Basualdo and Mercedes Zapiola, the palace is widely hailed as the pinnacle of French Beaux-Arts residential architecture in Argentina. In the late 1970s, the mansion faced imminent destruction when city planners ordered it bulldozed to widen Avenida 9 de Julio. In a daring diplomatic standoff, the French government adamantly refused to sell or vacate the building, with French ambassadors invoking diplomatic immunity. The fierce protests of Argentine architects, cultural preservationists, and French diplomats successfully forced the city to bend the highway around the property, saving this architectural masterwork for posterity. Across the square stands the equally splendid Palacio Álzaga Unzué, built in 1920 in the English Edwardian style, and the Jockey Club headquarters.
Gazing across this Parisian roundabout surrounded by slate mansards and heroic bronze monuments reveals the supreme architectural pinnacle of early twentieth-century Buenos Aires.
Walk southeast along Calle Arroyo to finish our grand palace tour before Palacio San Martín on Plaza San Martín.