Sarmiento Park is the largest public park in

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Punilla Valley, Sierras Chicas on the Primero River, Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province an ...

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,

Carlos Thays Carlos Thays (August 20, 1849 – January 31, 1934)Biog ...

. Newly arrived, Thays planned the new park on a plateau overlooking the Cañada Brook to the west and the National University of Córdoba'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 death in 1934. Work began in 1890 on the 17 hectare (43 acre) park and, upon its opening in 1911, it was named ''Parque Sarmiento'' in honor of former President

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...

, the noted promoter of the national educational system born one hundred years earlier. The park and its rose garden 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) built facing the park the same year and, in 1918, the city opened a natatorium and an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

. 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 reversal 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 in 2007 and the existing Caraffa Fine Arts Museum 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 reinaugurated the restored park natatorium with a belly flop in 2008.''La Voz del Interior: El Parque Sarmiento recuperó su pileta''
/ref> Located within the park is the Bicentennial Lighthouse. In 2023, during Mayor Llarllora's ruling, the zoo was turned into a "Biodiversity Park". It is a 17-hectares park in the middle of the city. Entrance is free and visitors can either do a self-guided tour or they can also book a guided tour of about 150 minutes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarmiento Park Urban public parks Protected areas of Córdoba Province, Argentina Parks in Argentina Protected areas established in 1911 1911 establishments in Argentina