Piriápolis is a city in the

Maldonado Department The Maldonado Department ( es, Departamento de Maldonado; ), with an area of and 164,300 inhabitants (2011), is located to the southeast of Uruguay. Its capital is Maldonado. Geography and climate Neighbouring departments are Rocha to the Eas ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It is an important summer resort in the country, predating the larger and better known resort town of

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

. Because it is mainly used as a resort, it has a relatively small permanent population for a city of its size. Piriápolis is also the name of the municipality to which the city belongs. It includes the following zones: Piriápolis, Playa Grande, Playa Hermosa, Playa Verde, Punta Colorada,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Punta Negra, Sauce de Portezuelo, Ocean Park, Barra de Portezuelo,

La Capuera La Capuera is a town of the Maldonado Department in Uruguay. Geography The town is located on the coast of the lake Laguna del Sauce, near kilometre 120 of Route 93, about 18 kilometres west of the capital city, Maldonado and just west of the L ...

, Puntas de la Sierra, La Falda, Miramar, Colonia V. Suárez, Sierras del Tirol.

Location

It is located on the coast of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

, on Route 10 and its intersection with Route 37. It is about east of the national capital, Montevideo (via

Ruta Interbalnearia Ruta Interbalnearia (which means Inter-resort Route) or Ruta Líber Seregni is a national route of Uruguay. It connects Montevideo with Punta del Este to the east along the coast. The road is approximately in length. It is marked on maps and si ...

and Route 37).

History

Piriápolis was founded on 5 November 1890 as ''El Balneario del Porvenir'' (the Resort of the Future). In 1890, businessman

Francisco Piria Fernando Juan Santiago Francisco María Piria de Grossi (Montevideo, 21 August 1847 - 11 December 1933) was a Uruguayan inventor, alchemist, writer, politician and businessman of Italian descent. He was notable for establishing the city and sea ...

had bought a very big stretch of land, including the hills Cerro Pan de Azúcar, Cerro del Inglés and Cerro del Toro, all the way south to the beach. In 1897 he finished the construction of his personal residence, Piria´s Castle, in 1905 the construction of "Hotel Piriápolis", today known as "Colonia Escolar de Vacaciones", in 1910 he constructed the coastal avenue Rambla de los Argentinos finished in 1916. From 1920 to 1930 he constructed the Argentino Hotel, one of the biggest hotels of South America of the times. When Piria died in 1933, his natural and legal children started fighting each other over the inheritance. On 10 September 1937, the status of the populated centre was elevated to "Pueblo" (village) by the Act of Ley Nº 9.687. On 21 June 1960 its status was further elevated to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley Nº 12.736.

Population

In 2011 Piriápolis had a population of 8,830 permanent inhabitants and 8,489 dwellings. According to the Intendencia Departamental de Maldonado, the municipality of Piriápolis has a population of 14,000. MunMaldPiria

Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Places of interest

The city is centered on the Rambla de los Argentinos, a waterfront promenade. With a tourism-centered economy, Piriápolis has opulent

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, large

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s, an active

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

scene, and public parks. The Templo de San Antonio, situated atop one of the hills surrounding the city, can be reached by chair lift and offers a panoramic view of the coast. For more adventurous travelers, Uruguay's third-highest point, the Cerro Pan de Azúcar, can be found 10 km outside of town. The peak presents a challenging climb as well as a nature reserve. Boat tours and saltwater fishing are available at the Piriápolis port. The Castle of Piria, near Piriápolis, is open to the public. The poet

Julio Herrera y Reissig Julio Herrera y Reissig (January 9, 1875 – March 18, 1910) was a Uruguayan poet, playwright and essayist, who began his career during the late Romanticist period and later became an early proponent of Modernism. Background He was the son ...

resided at the Castle for a period.

Places of worship

* Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception and St. John Vianney (

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

)

In fiction

*The Uruguayan film ''

Whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

'' is partly set in Piriápolis. * Juan Grompone's mystery novel ''Asesinato en el hotel de baños'' is set in Piriápolis.

References

External links

Portal de Piriápolis

Piriápolis, in Maldonado Hall Town official website

www.piriapolis.comArticle on Piriápolis, Official Portal of the Uruguayan GovernmentINE map of Piriápolis, Punta Colorada and Punta NegraHotels in Piriápolis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piriapolis Populated places in the Maldonado Department Seaside resorts in Uruguay Port cities and towns in Uruguay Populated places established in 1893 1893 establishments in Uruguay Ports and harbours of Uruguay