Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba

Jesuit block includes the Compañía´s church, the Capilla Doméstica (local chapel), the Priests’ Residence, the Rectorado (former Colegio Máximo of the Compañía de Jesús), as well as its administrative offices, the university council, the Salón de Grados, the Biblioteca Mayor (main library), and the Colegio Monserrat.The Jesuit settled in Córdoba in 1599, in the area granted by the Cabildo (Old Town Hall), where there was a little hermitage since 1589 which was not big enough to house the clergy, students, and the faithful. For that reason, in 1606 the construction of the new buildings began, historic buildings that are now part of the Manzana Jesuítica or Jesuit Block. Later on, other buildings were erected: Colegio Máximo (1610), the University (1622), Real Colegio Convictorio de Nuestra Señora de Monserrat (founded in 1687 but relocated in today's site in 1782 when the Compañía was expelled) and the Novitiate (in 1710). The church and the Capilla Doméstica were built between 1644 and 1671.
The Jesuit Estancias (ranches) in the Province of Córdoba, which are still in good conditions thanks to a well-preserved and carefully-executed architecture, are a unique example of the productive organization of the Jesuit fathers in Argentina.Although history shows that these ranches were acquired by the Jesuit Order for economic reasons, namely to finance the order’s schools and colleges, they “also participated in a missionary purpose, and thus became centres of religious dissemination”.The Jesuit Estancias in Jesús María, Caroya, Santa Catalina, La Candelaria and Alta Gracia can be visited within a 250-Km-long circuit through picturesque mountain roads.These 17th century rural establishments within the Manzana Jesuítica – all of them national historic monuments – were declared World Cultural Heritage in year 2000.

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