Buenos Aires Landmark: Palacio Barolo

Palacio Barolo an unexpected Buenos Aires Landmark

A visit to Palacio Barolo should be at the top of any architecture enthusiast’s list of activities in Buenos Aires. Palacio Barolo is an incredibly surprising Buenos Aires landmark, which at the time of its construction in the 1920’s was South America’s tallest building. Still today it towers far above most of the city’s skyscrapers and from its lighthouse (yes, it has its very own lighthouse, which can been seen all the way from Montevideo!) you can see one of the most astounding panoramic views of Buenos Aires; Of Plaza del Congreso, the rest of city and beyond the city limits, the Rio de la Plata. And as if the incredible viewpoint wasn't enough, prepare to be even more amazed by the building itself. [caption id="attachment_6237" align="alignnone" width="640"] Buenos Aires landmarks: Palacio Barolo - Once South America's tallest building / source[/caption]

A Building based on Dante’s Divine Comedy

In 1923, the Italian Immigrant, Luis Barolo who made his millions in the Argentine textile trade, commissioned the Italian architect, Mario Palanti, to build him a palace to add as a Buenos Aires Landmark. Both Italians were huge fans of Dante, the legendary Italian poet. So much so that the palace was designed to pay tribute to Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy. His famous masterpiece, which he wrote in the 14th century, is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature ever to be written. It is an emblematic vision of the Afterlife, describing Dante’s own imaginary passage through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. [caption id="attachment_6239" align="alignnone" width="640"] The spectacular view form the top of Palacio Barolo / source[/caption] The two Italians were fanatics of Dante’s iconic poem and based the structure of the Buenos Aires Landmark the Palacio Barolo on it: To start off, the building is exactly 100 meters tall, one meter for every canto of the poem. Following Dante’s own journey in the poem, a visitor to the Palacio Barolo begins his journey in Hell (the basement and ground floor), moves up through Purgatory (1^st to 14^th floor) and ends as you reach Heaven (from floor 15 to 22). The 22 floors of the building – each of which is split into 22 offices - represent the number of stanzas of the Divine Comedy’s verses. There’s fascinating details throughout the building, we recommend you go see it yourself! This blog post would go on for pages and pages, if we were to describe all the remarkable quirks of the palace’s fascinating layout. As you reach the cupola of the palace – representing Heaven - and which is inspired by a Hindu temple in India. There’s even a lighthouse on top of the building, from which you can see the spectacular panoramic view of Buenos Aires. [caption id="attachment_6240" align="alignnone" width="335"] The cupola of the Buenos Aires Landmark: Palacio Barolo / source[/caption] Today, Palacio Barolo functions as an office building; however, its doors are open to anyone who wants to visit this spectacular Buenos Aires landmark. The building itself runs their own daily tours (in English and Spanish).  A favourite being the nighttime tours, meaning you can enjoy the nighttime view of Buenos Aires, illuminated by the floodlights of the Palacio’s lighthouse.

Palacio Barolo |  www.palaciobarolotours.com | Avenida de Mayo 1370, Buenos Aires

For more info on tours and activities in Buenos Aires, have a look at our website, where you will find a variety of guided city tours ensuring you don’t miss out on any of Buenos Aires’ spectacular landmarks.