Palacio Fuentes

The Palacio Fuentes (Spanish, Fuentes Palace) is a historical building in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located in the downtown business district, occupying the southwestern corner of Santa Fe St. and Sarmiento St.

The construction of the palace was commanded by Juan Fuentes Echeverría, a Spanish-born businessman who had settled in Rosario at the age of 28 during the last quarter of the 19th century and amassed wealth in the field of agriculture and cattle farming. He hired architect Juan Bautista Durand to design the building (Durand authored many other projects, such as today's Sala Lavardén). The Palacio Fuentes was built by the firm "Ferrarese Hnos. y Cía." (Ferrarese Brothers & Company) between 1922 and 1927. [Galería, [http://galeria.universia.com.ar/displayimage2.php?album=169&pos=12 Palacio Fuentes] .]

The lower façade of the palace is made of dark green granite. The upper floors feature Corinthian columns and a loggia with statues. The top floor is crowned by a clock tower. [Argentina Turística, [http://www.argentinaturistica.com/informa/rosicircuitostur.htm Rosario - Circuitos turísticos] .]

The main door, located on the corner, was made of bronze and brought from Germany. It is 3 m wide and 5 m tall. It was designed by Manuel Ocampo based on the Gates of Paradise at the Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence, Italy. Following the Gothic tradition, its structure includes busts of the owner, the architect, the engineer, the builder and the artists that intervened, and features images of people of different races, representations of virtues and defects, and Bible verses. The other doors in the ground floor have reliefs of the faces of former presidents Nicolás Avellaneda and Julio Argentino Roca. [Ruta0, [http://www.ruta0.com/locs.asp?thread=5260&flags= Puerta Palacio Fuentes] .]

Rosario patrimonial value|building|011110500 [Rosario patrimonial value item|Palacio Fuentes|821|1998|]

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