1892
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2013
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At the beginning of 18th century, Miguel Inclan donated the land (owned by his wife Gregoria Herrera y Huarto) for the future church.
He wanted to fulfill the promise given to the Virgin of Pilar - Patroness of Zaragoza (a native city of M. Inclan) to build the church once his mother’s health will improve.
The permission was granted by the Spanish King Philip V in 1716. The work started soon after, given generous contributions from wealthy merchants led by Juan de Narbonne, who also became an administrator of the project.
The construction work was initially commissioned to an Italian Jesuit architect Andres Bianchi (Blanqui) and was completed by another one - Juan Bautista Premoli. The church was consecrated in 1732 becoming later part of the larger Convent’s complex of Augustinian Monks Recoletos.
Since then the “flow of history” changed the Recoleta’s “landscape”. The Order of Monks was disbanded soon after Argentina gained independence. The Convent facilities were converted into public space (today home to Centro Cultural Recoleta) and its gardens transformed to one of the world’s most famous cemeteries – Recoleta.
The Church of Our Lady of the Pillar (elevated to the status of Basilica in 1936 by Pope Pius XI) is the second oldest existing church in Buenos Aires. In 1942 it was declared a National Historic Monument.
With its pure-white walls and bell tower it is a reminiscence of the glory of the Recoleta’s past, although it is not the only witness of those times. The “ambience” of the area is highly enhanced by eye-catching trees planted almost three hundreds years ago by monks – now still dotting the large Plaza Francia in front of the church.
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