Plaza Sarmiento is a plaza

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

 (urban square) in the city of Rosario

Rosario

Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....

, province

Provinces of Argentina

Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...

 of Santa Fe

Santa Fe Province

The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Its name is an homage to former Argentine president

President of Argentina

The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...

 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...

.

Plaza Sarmiento is located in a strategic location within the Rosario downtown area, and serves as a transport node for many urban and short-distance interurban bus lines. It occupies almost two blocks, defined by San Luis St., Entre Ríos St., Mendoza St. and Corrientes St. It is divided by San Juan St. (running east–west). It features a monument crowned by a statue of Sarmiento, known as a pioneer and promoter of public education

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

 in Argentina. The only route of the Rosario trolleybus system

Trolleybuses in Rosario

The Rosario trolleybus system is part of the public transport network in Rosario, the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.Opened in 1959, the system presently comprises one line, designated as line K.-Early years:...

, line K, passes through Plaza Sarmiento.

The plaza currently hosts an outdoors artisans' fair several days each week.

History

The area where the current plaza is located at present was formerly occupied by a small lagoon (Laguna Sánchez). In 1867 the governor of Santa Fe

Governor of Santa Fe

The governor of the Argentine province of Santa Fe is the highest executive officeholder of the province.According to the provincial constitution , the governor is elected by the simple majority of the popular vote, along with a vice governor, for a four-year term, and cannot be reelected...

, Nicasio Oroño

Nicasio Oroño

Nicasio V. Oroño was an Argentine politician and lawyer, and governor of Santa Fe between 1865 and 1868.-Youth in the military:...

, upon a request of the municipal government, ordered the terrain to be expropriated

Eminent domain

Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

 and four blocks to be set aside to establish a public square. In 1874 the Deliberative Council of Rosario requested terrain plans to be made for the future square, called Plaza Urquiza. The lagoon was emptied and refilled with earth.

The square was officially declared a public plaza on 16 March 1875. A strip of land on the southern edge was given to the national state for the construction of Normal School No. 1. The rest of the southern block was named Plaza Iriondo, although the public referred to it as Plaza Santa Rosa. The monument and statue of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, in the center of the plaza, which was to carry Sarmiento's name, was inaugurated on 20 December 1911. The sculptor was Victor de Pol

Victor de Pol

Victor de Pol was a sculptor most active in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Born in Venice, de Pol was a student of Giulio Monteverde. He immigrated to Argentina at the age of 22 and participated in the development of La Plata, designing Beaux-Arts-style sculpture for major public buildings...

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External links

• Plaza Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, by lu6fpj — Picture and description, on Flickr
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