Capurro is a ''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...
'' (neighbourhood or district) of
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...
,
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 ...
, and part of the Capurro–Bella Vista composite barrio, with
Artigas Boulevard separating the two.
Location
Capurro shares borders with
La Teja to the north west,
Prado
The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
to the north east,
Bella Vista to the south east and it borders the
Bay of Montevideo to the south west.
History
The early history of the area was marked by the trade of slaves from Africa. Slave trading ships had first arrived in Montevideo in 1743. The Spanish company ''
Real Compañía de Filipinas
The Royal Company of the Philippines (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Real Compañía de Filipinas'') was a chartered company founded in 1785, directed to establish a monopoly on the History of the Philippines (1565–1898), Spanish Philippines and a ...
'', after its first such import in 1787, was forced by the government to build quaranteen barracks for the slaves, for the protection from epidemic diseases. These barracks, that came to be known as "Caserío de los Negros", were built in the coast of Capurro. After the declaration of Independence, they were demolished.
The name and foundation of Capurro are related to the Genoan mariner
Giovanni Battista Capurro Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
.
Page dedicated to G.B.Capurro and his family
/ref> He arrived in the country at the time of the first Constitution and acquired coastal land in this area around 1830. His home, which was surrounded by wonderful gardens, took on the name "Mecca". The area he acquired was rich in springs and wells of fresh water and had a lot of sand. Capurro started selling fresh water to ships returning to Europe, as well as sand for ballast
Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
, causing the sand of the beach to dwindle away.
In 1869, the "Compañía de Tranvías al Paso del Molino y Cerro" established a line of horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, ...
s which connected Montevideo with the Villa del Cerro
Villa del Cerro is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
This barrio shares borders with Casabó to the west, La Paloma to the north, the Pantanoso Creek to the northeast, the Bay of Montevideo to the east a ...
. This line brought many visitors to the area around the beach, which was called Playa Honda, transforming it into a relaxation and recreation area. The sons of Capurro started planning to build a big hotel, but the economic crisis of the 1890s stopped their plans. Instead, in 1910, a park was founded in its place, called Parque Capurro. It was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Veltroni.
See also
*Barrios of Montevideo
The city of Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, is divided into 62 ''barrios'' (neighborhoods or districts), each with its own identity, demographic characteristics and activities appropriate to the socio-cultural level of its inhabitants. The outer ...
References
External links
Intendencia de Montevideo / Historia del Capurro
{{Barrios of Montevideo
Barrios of Montevideo