Sights in Tucumán
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A
Casa de la Independencia
Unitarist lawyers and clerics (Federalists boycotted the meeting) declared Argentina’s independence from Spain on July 9, 1816, in the dazzlingly whitewashed late-colonial Casa de la Independencia. Portraits of the signatories line the walls of the room where the declaration was signed, the only actual original part of the structure – the rest has been rebuilt. There’s plenty of information in Spanish on the lead-up to these seismic events, but you can also get a guided tour (free) in English.
reviewed
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San José de Lules
Until 1767, San José de Lules was a Jesuit reducción (Indian settlement created by Spanish missionaries) among the region's Lule Indians. After the Jesuits' expulsion, the Dominicans assumed control of the complex - their ruins, which date from the 1880s, once served as a school. The small museum has replicas of colonial documents and a plethora of busts of various Argentine independence heroes.
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B
Cathedral
Tucumán’s neoclassical cathedral is a handsome presence on Plaza Independencia, and has a Doric facade with a pediment depicting the Exodus. Curiously, Moses is receiving bunches of grapes in the desert; a reference to the fertility of Tucumán’s surrounding area. The interior has a petite wooden choir, cheerily alive ceiling paintings, and a canvas of the Annunciation behind the altar.
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Termas de Río Hondo
Termas de Río Hondo's main attraction is its thermal springs, and even the most basic accommodation has hot mineral baths. Very much a destination for Argentine tourists, Río Hondo is not as interesting for international visitors. That said, you'll be comfortable in the off-season with bargain-basement prices, as competition between hotels is hot.
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C
Casa del Obispo Colombres
In the center of Parque 9 de Julio (formerly Bishop Colombres’ El Bajo plantation), handsome 18th-century Casa del Obispo Colombres is a museum dedicated to the sugar industry, which the active cleric (an important figure in the independence movement) effectively set up. The information panels are translated into English.
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D
Casa Padilla
Alongside the Casa de Gobierno, this partly restored mid-19th-century house first belonged to provincial governor José Frías (1792–1874), then to his mayor son-in-law Ángel Padilla. A display of European art, Chinese porcelain and period furniture make up the collection housed by the museum.
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E
Museo Folclórico Manuel Belgrano
Occupying a colonial house, pleasant Museo Folclórico Manuel Belgrano features a good collection of traditional gaucho gear, indigenous musical instruments (check out the charangos made from an armadillo shell) and weavings, as well as some indigenous pottery.
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