Rectorado y Museo Histórico de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Rectorado y Museo Histórico de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Review

This two-story building's cream-colored facade features prominently on the east side of the Jesuit Block; it's the formal administrative center of a sprawling campus whose educational standards rivaled those of any European university in its heyday. Early graduates of Latin America's second-oldest university became the doctors and lawyers who ran the fledging nation; some are even Catholic saints. Inside is a Jesuit library that includes such rarities as a 1645 Bible written in seven languages, as well as a spectacular collection of maps, religious works, and historical documents such as the first draft of the Argentine Civil Code. The interior patio contains a statue of Fray Fernando Trejo, who donated the money to build the university for Jesuit education in 1613. The museum and the Colegio Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat next door, a high school dating from 1687, are visitable by tour only: one-hour tours are 8 pesos and given daily in English at 11 am and 6 pm (tours in Spanish are at 10 am and 5 pm).