Sarmiento Park is the largest public park in Córdoba, Argentina

Córdoba, Argentina

Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

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Overview

The development of a suburb south of the rapidly growing Córdoba of the late nineteenth century created the need for an extensive new green space for the area. The new neighborhood's chief developer, Miguel Crisol, commissioned a French urbanist for the task in 1889, Charles Thays. Newly arrived, Thays planned the new park on a plateau overlooking the Cañada Brook to the west and the National University of Córdoba

National University of Córdoba

The National University of Córdoba, , is the oldest university in Argentina, and one of the oldest in the Americas. It is located in Córdoba, the capital of Córdoba Province. Since the early 20th century it has been the second largest university in the country in terms of the number of students,...

's colonial campus to the south. This would be the first of over a dozen ambitious urban design projects Thays would undertake across Argentina until his passing in 1934.

Work began in 1890 on the 17 hectare (43 acre) park and, upon its opening in 1911, it was christened Parque Sarmiento in honor of former President Domingo Sarmiento, the noted promoter of the national educational system born one hundred years earlier. The park and its rose garden

Rose garden

A Rose garden or Rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds.-Origins of the rose...

 quickly became the preferred surroundings for many in Córdoba high society and, in 1912, Dr. Juan Ferreyra bought adjacent land for his Beaux Arts mansion, completed in 1916.

Civic projects soon joined upscale residential ones. An initiative by German Argentine immigrant José Scherer led to the creation of a city zoo at the park in 1915. The city's arts patrons had the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts (later renamed for painter Emilio Caraffa

Emilio Caraffa

-Life and work:Emilio Caraffa was born in Catamarca, Argentina, in 1862. His family relocated to Rosario, where he attended the local National College , and learned to draw and sketch...

) built facing the park the same year and, in 1918, the city opened a natatorium

Natatorium

A natatorium is a term given for a building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated building...

 and an amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

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The surrounding neighborhood grew to over 25,000 by the year 2000, by which time Sarmiento Park suffered from the twin problems of overuse and budgetary constraints. The recent nationwide economic recovery, however, translated into a dramatic reversla of this trend for the park. The zoo was reopened in 2006 following extensive refurbishment, the Ferreyra palace was adapted for the creation of the Evita Fine Arts Museum

Evita Fine Arts Museum

The Evita Fine Arts Museum is an art museum in Córdoba, Argentina.-Overview:The museum is housed in the Ferreyra Palace, a Beaux-Arts mansion designed by French architect Ernest Sanson and built between 1912 and 1916 for Dr...

 in 2007 and the existing Caraffa Fine Arts Museum

Caraffa Fine Arts Museum

The Emilio Caraffa Provincial Fine Arts Museum is an art museum in Córdoba, Argentina.-Overview:The institution was established as the Provincial Fine Arts Museum by the Province of Córdoba, which commissioned German Argentine architect Juan Kronfuss for its design, in 1915...

 was given a new wing. The city also welcomed the new Museum of Natural Sciences at the park in 2007. In tune with the city's new humor, Mayor Daniel Giacomino

Daniel Giacomino

Daniel Oscar Giacomino is an Argentine politician elected Mayor of Córdoba in 2007.-Life and times:Giacomino was born in San Francisco, Córdoba, to a family of Piedmontese descent. He earned an American Field Service scholarship with which he attended the University of Kentucky in 1981-82...

reinaugurated the restored park natatorium with a belly flop in 2008.