Plaza Dorrego

You've reached the heart of San Telmo. The square in front of you is small, just 47 metres a side, but it's one of the oldest in Buenos Aires.

1The carters' rise

By around 1586 this place was already known as the Alto de las Carretas: carts arriving from the south stopped here before entering the city. Around it grew a neighbourhood of sailors, craftsmen and immigrants, close to the port and the church of San Pedro. So the district became the Alto de San Pedro, and the square was also called Plaza del Comercio.

2An oath in 1816

Independence was declared in Tucumán on 9 July 1816, but each city swore it afterwards. On 13 September 1816 a ceremony was held in this square to pledge loyalty to independence, attended by Supreme Director Juan Martín de Pueyrredón. A tile plaque on calle Bethlem recalls it. In 1900 the square took the name of Manuel Dorrego, the Buenos Aires governor executed in 1828.

3The neighbourhood that emptied

Cholera epidemics and, above all, the yellow fever of 1871 pushed wealthy families north. Their grand houses were turned into conventillos, crowded tenements for immigrants.

In 1970, on the initiative of architect José María Peña, the antiques fair that now defines the neighbourhood was born here.

4What to look for

• Bar Plaza Dorrego, on the corner, with its dark wood.
• The rubber tree and the silk floss tree, the square's big trees.
• The Italianate façades of the old family houses.