Museum sights in Argentina
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Museo y Mercado Provincial de Artesanías
Promoting handicrafts from throughout the province, the Museo y Mercado Provincial de Artesanías is a likable little place. Ask the curator to explain things to you; you’ll be amazed at the intricacy of some of the work, like the hats made from tightly woven palm fibers. In December there are folk music performances in the garden.
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B
Museo de Ciencias Naturales e Historia
The natural-history section of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales e Historia focuses on fauna and the geology and mineralogy of the province. The museum also has an excellent serpentarium (with demonstrations of venom extraction), an aviary and an aquarium. Its historical section stresses prehistory, the Jesuit missions and modern colonization.
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Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes
This museum is worth a visit for its brilliantly inventive juxtapositions of fine art – and there are a couple of exceptional European paintings here – with contemporary artworks from the MACRO collection. A St Andrew by Ribera, for example, is beautifully matched with a haunting photo portrait by Pierre Gonnord.
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D
Museo Molino de San Francisco
Chilecito founder Don Domingo de Castro y Bazán owned this colonial flour mill, whose Museo Molino de San Francisco houses an eclectic assemblage of archaeological tools, antique arms, early colonial documents, minerals, traditional wood and leather crafts, banknotes, woodcuts, early cell telephones and paintings.
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E
Palacio de Las Aguas Corrientes
Hundreds of thousands of glazed terracotta tiles adorn the exterior of this awe-inspiring building. Opened in 1894, the fairytale-like Palacio de Las Aguas Corrientes (Palace of Running Water) was home to 12 giant tanks that distributed water to the city. Now the building has a small museum exhibiting antique faucets and urinals.
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Museo Nao Victoria
Relive Magellan’s landing at this museum and theme-park with life-sized figures cloaked in armor and shown celebrating Mass and battling mutiny, at the port on a reproduction.
Another option is trekking the coastline and checking out the abundant birdlife. If you have a friend (or make one), you can rent tandem bicyclesto explore. For more information on either activity, consult the tourist information kiosk.
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Museo Cardenal Cagliero
The Salesian Museo Cardenal Cagliero features incredible ceiling paintings and a neat fish-vertebrae cane (check out the cardinal’s office). It is housed in the Centro Histórico Cultural Salesiano, the former Vicariato de la Patagonia, a massive 1890 brick structure on the corner of Colón.
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Museo del Patrimonio
If you like quirky museums, check out the small Museo del Patrimonio on the 2nd floor of Palacio de Las Aguas Corrientes; it’s full of pipe fittings, tiles and odd toilets. Guided visits offer a backstage glimpse of the building’s inner workings (call for schedules). Bring photo ID and enter via Riobamba.
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Museo Histórico de Corrientes
This museum is set around an attractive patio and exhibits weapons, antique furniture, coins and items dealing with religious and civil history. It’s a little bit higgledy-piggledy, but staff are proud of the exhibition and keen to chat. The room on the War of the Triple Alliance is the most interesting.
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Museo Antropológico
Just above the Güemes monument, on the lower slopes of Cerro San Bernardo, is the friendly Museo Antropológico. It has good representations of local ceramics, especially from the Tastil ruins (Argentina’s largest pre-Inca town), and some well-designed displays in its attractive, purpose-built spaces.
reviewed
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Museo Histórico Provincial
The well-presented collection of this museum features plenty of postindependence exhibits plus excellent displays on indigenous cultures from all over Latin America. Particularly interesting is the collection of Baroque religious art from the southern Andes. Information is presented in Spanish only.
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J
Museo Histórico Provincial
In a lovable 17th-century building, this museum has a variety of possessions and mementos of various provincial governors and caudillos (provincial strongmen), as well as some religious art and fine period furnishings, including a sedan chair once used to carry around the Viceroy of Río de la Plata.
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Museo Regional Molino Viejo
Occupies the restored remains of a 1922 grain mill. At the time of research it was closed for renovation. It’s a couple of blocks east of the plaza, at the end of 25 de Mayo.
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K
Museo Histórico de Entre Ríos
Flaunting local pride, this modern museum on Plaza Alvear contains information on the short-lived Republic of Entre Ríos and the battle of Monte Camperos, as well as mate paraphernalia and numerous solid wooden desks and portraits of Urquiza. Much of it was the collection of a local poet.
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Museo Histórico Municipal General Pueyrredón
Once owned by Argentine icon, General Pueyrredón, the Museo Histórico Municipal General Pueyrredón is an old colonial villa set on spacious grounds with faraway views of the Río de la Plata. Don’t miss the algarrobo tree under which Pueyrredón and San Martín planned strategies against the Spanish.
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Museo de Bellas Artes de la Boca Benito Quinquela Martín
On display at this modern museum are the works of Benito Quinquela Martín, which center on La Boca’s port history. There are also paintings by more contemporary Argentine artists, along with a small but excellent collection of painted wood bowsprits (carved statues decorating the front of ships).
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M
Fragata Sarmiento
Over 23,000 Argentine naval cadets and officers have trained aboard this 85m ship, which sailed around the world 40 times between 1899 and 1938 but never participated in combat. On board are the records of its voyages, nautical items and even the stuffed remains of Lampazo (the ship’s pet dog).
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Museo El Hombre y La Naturaleza
The now-defunct Estación Belgrano (train station) has been recycled into the Centro de Difusión Cultural Eva Perón, a cultural center that includes the anthropological museum, Museo El Hombre y La Naturaleza, a combination museum/gift shop showcasing weavings and pottery finds from the region.
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Museo de la Pasión Boquense
High-tech and spiffy, the Museo de la Pasión Boquense chronicles La Bombonera stadium, some soccer idols’ histories, past highlights (on many videos), the championships, the trophies and, of course, the gooooals. It’s located right under the stadium; peek at the pitch for a few extra pesos.
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Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno
This is a relatively small but well-organized facility with modern and contemporary art exhibits. Free concerts and theatrical performances are usually held here on Sunday night at 8pm – stop by for the weekly program. It’s underground at the Plaza Independencia.
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Museo Y Taller Draghi
The small Museo y Taller Draghi highlights an exceptional collection of silver facones (gaucho knives), beautiful horse gear and intricate mate (tea) paraphernalia. It’s mainly the workshop of Juan José Draghi and family, however, so guided tours are given.
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Museo Arqueológico
Cachi’s Museo Arqueológico is a well-presented and professionally arranged account of the surrounding area’s cultural evolution, with good background information on archaeological methods, all in Spanish. Don’t miss the wall in the secondary patio, composed of stones with petroglyphs.
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Museo Histórico Dr Arturo Jáuretche
This museum makes some sense of Argentina’s chaotic economic history. Well-lit displays about paper money and counterfeiting are no doubt scrutinized by BA’s current money forgers. The million-peso bill from 1981 gives an idea of the hyperinflation porteños had to deal with.
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Museo Etnográfico y Colonial Provincial
Run with heartwarming enthusiasm, this museum has a chronological display of stone tools, Guaraní ceramics, jewelry, carved bricks and colonial objects. Highlights include a set of tablas – a colonial game similar to backgammon – and a scale model of the original Santa Fe.
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Museo Tradicionalista Fuerte Independencia
The historical Museo Tradicionalista Fuerte Independencia exhibits a large and varied collection on Tandil’s history. Photographs (captioned in Spanish) commemorate major events, and the place is filled with relics – from carriages to ladies’ gloves – donated by local families.
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