Plaza de Mayo

If there's one place where Argentine history was written at street level, it's here. Turn slowly on the spot: power, the Church and colonial memory surround you.

1A stage four centuries old

Juan de Garay laid out the main square here in 1580. In colonial times it was a market, a place for festivities and for executions. In May 1810 crowds gathered in front of the Cabildo while the end of the viceroyalty was being decided, and that's where the square gets its name.

2The great days

In the 20th century the square became the country's political thermometer. On 17 October 1945, thousands of workers filled it to demand the release of Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, who spoke late that night from the balcony of the Casa Rosada. On 16 June 1955, Navy aircraft bombed the square in an attempted coup against Perón, killing hundreds of civilians.

3The Mothers

On 30 April 1977, in the midst of the military dictatorship, a group of mothers met here to demand news of their disappeared children. Since the police wouldn't let them stand still, they began walking in a circle around the pyramid. Wearing white headscarves, they kept doing it every Thursday for decades.

The headscarves painted on the ground trace the path of those marches.

4What to look for

• The white headscarves painted around the pyramid.
• The balcony of the Casa Rosada, where presidents and leaders have spoken.
• The equestrian statue of Belgrano, in front of the Casa Rosada.