Santísimo Sacramento Basilica and Carrara Marble Splendor

Why is it significant?

Standing before San Martín 1039, you face the stately stone entrance of the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento. Commissioned in 1907 by aristocrat Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena and consecrated in 1916, this church was conceived as the spiritual pantheon of the Anchorena dynasty.

Key Facts

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Standing before San Martín 1039, you face the stately stone entrance of the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento. Commissioned in 1907 by aristocrat Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena and consecrated in 1916, this church was conceived as the spiritual pantheon of the Anchorena dynasty. Designed by French architects Alfred Coulomb and Louis-Pierre Chauvet, the basilica is a triumph of French Eclectic architecture, harmoniously blending Romanesque arched portals with Byzantine domes and Italian Renaissance craftsmanship.

Look above the central entrance portal: five graceful stone spires soar toward the sky, crowned by a central bell tower rising over fifty meters above the quiet side street.

Step inside into the hushed, luminous nave, where the artistic opulence is breathtaking. The interior is clad in over fifteen hundred square meters of pure white Carrara marble, veined red Verona marble, and blue granite monoliths imported from the quarries of Baveno, Italy. Soaring above the high altar is a monumental monstrance carved in gilded bronze and silver, studded with precious gemstones and lit by soft candlelight. Overhead, shimmering golden Venetian glass mosaics illuminate the domes with biblical scenes of the Eucharist. In the subterranean crypt below lies the marble tomb of Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena, who died in 1920 after donating millions of pesos to charitable foundations, schools, and hospitals across Argentina. The church's pipe organ, built by the renowned German firm E.F. Walcker, features nearly five thousand pipes and is considered one of the finest acoustic instruments in South America.

The tranquil beauty of the white marble columns and the gentle glow of golden Byzantine tesserae provide a peaceful spiritual oasis hidden amidst the busy downtown financial district. Linger a moment in the tranquil side aisles to admire the delicate hand-carved details before stepping back into the urban daylight.

Walk south along Calle San Martín for four blocks to reach the historic commercial palace of Galerías Pacífico on Calle Florida.