Palacio Barolo

Palacio Barolo Barolo Palace
File:Palacio Barolo.JPG Location in Buenos Aires
General information
Type	Office Building
Architectural style	Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Eclecticism, Gothic
Location	Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Address	Avenida de Mayo 1370
Construction started	1919
Completed	1923
Height	100 metres
Technical details
Floor count	22
Design and construction
Architect	Mario Palanti
Main contractor	Wayss & Freytag
Website
Official website
National Historic Monument of Argentina
Designated	1989

Palacio Barolo is a landmark office building, located at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, in the neighborhood of Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina. When it was built it was the tallest building in the city and South America. Its twin brother, Palacio Salvo, is a building designed and erected in Eclectic style, but of greater height, built by the same architect in Montevideo.

This building was declared a national historic monument in 1997. Currently, the building has several travel agencies, a Spanish school for foreigners, a store that sells clothes for tango, offices and studios of architects, accountants, lawyers, etc.

History

Italian architect Mario Palanti was commissioned to design the building by the empresario Luis Barolo, an Italian immigrant who had arrived in Argentina in 1890 and had made a fortune in knitted fabrics. The basic design, in eclectic style, was conceived simultaneously with one for the Palacio Salvo in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Palacio Barolo was designed in accordance with the cosmology of Dante's Divine Comedy, motivated by the architect's admiration for Alighieri. There are 22 floors, divided into three "sections". The basement and ground floor represent hell, floors 1-14 are the purgatory, and 15-22 represent heaven. The building is 100 meters (330 feet) tall, one meter for each canto of the Divine Comedy. The lighthouse at the top of the building can be seen all the way in Montevideo, Uruguay. The owner planned to use only 3 floors, and to rent the rest.

When completed in 1923 it was the tallest building, not only in the city, but also in the whole of South America. It remained the city's tallest building until 1935 when, on completion, the Kavanagh Building acquired this distinction. Today it houses mainly lawyer offices, a Spanish-language school, and a store that sells Tango clothing.

Gallery

• Palacio Barolo (postal).jpg
• Buenos Aires - Palacio Barolo - Hall principal.jpg
• Pasaje Barolo negocio.jpg
• Buenos Aires - Avenida de Mayo - Palacio Barolo - Interior.jpg
• Vista interior del Palacio desde el 4to piso.jpg
• Barolo, La Inmobiliaria y Congreso Nacional.jpg
• 
• Palacio Barolo (desde calle Yrigoyen).JPG

References

• Mimi Bohm, Buenos Aires, Art Nouveau, Ediciones Xavier Verstraeten, Buenos Aires, 2005.
• Palacio Barolo brochure from a guided tour.

External links

• Palacio Barolo Website
• Catalogue of Monuments
• Photo essay of the palace
• Pictures
• Monument to the latin geniuses