The Cabildo

In front of you is the most symbolically charged building in Argentina. Look at its proportions: it seems cut short. And it was.

1The town council's house

The Cabildo was the colonial town council: leading residents met here, justice was administered, and there was a jail. The present building was begun on 23 July 1725 to plans by the Jesuit architects Giovanni Battista Primoli and Andrea Bianchi, known locally as Andrés Blanqui. Work was slow: the tower wasn't finished until 1765.

2May 1810

On 22 May 1810 an open council met here to debate whether viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros should stay in power, after news arrived that the Central Junta in Spain had fallen. Three days later, on 25 May, the First Junta took over the government. It was the start of the process that led to independence, declared in 1816.

3A building cut down to size

The modern city wasn't kind to it. In 1889 three arches on the north side were knocked down to open Avenida de Mayo. In 1931 three more fell on the south side to make way for the Diagonal Sur, despite public protests.

What you see is the result of Mario Buschiazzo's restoration, completed in 1940: five arches and a tower lower than the colonial one.

Today it houses the National Historical Museum of the Cabildo and the May Revolution.

4What to look for

• The five arches on each floor: picture three more on either side.
• The clock tower, rebuilt in 1940.
• The neighbouring buildings, standing where the demolished arches once were.