Posts Tagged ‘Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba’

Another World Heritage site listed under the Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba, the Manzana Jesuítica contains the University of Córdoba, one of the oldest in South America, the Monserrat Secondary School, a church and residence buildings.

Unfortunately we arrived late and were unable to explore the inside of the buildings.  It’s a shame as there were so many rooms, nookes and crannies and passageways, it would have made for an exciting little adventure but would have taken hours. Nonetheless, great to see such a beautiful building being so well maintained and preserved by the local authority and presumably the World Heritage Organisation.

The most complicated World Heritage site/listing we have visited to-date. Although called Alta Gracia (we think) it forms part of the wider heritage listing under Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba.  There are several buildings (as indicated below) spread throughout Córdoba and none of their names match those listed on the World Heritage website – all very confusing.  We are going by the name on the entrance plaque, but those have been wrong on occasions too.

According to our pamphlet, the Jesuit Block in Córdoba, is the heart of the former Jesuit Province of Paraguay and contains the core buildings of the Jesuit system: the university, the church and residence of the Society of Jesus, and the college. Along with the five estancias, or farming estates, they contain religious and secular buildings, which illustrate the unique religious, social, and economic experiment carried out in the world for a period of over 150 years in the 17th and 18th centuries.