Basílica de Santo Domingo, Buenos Aires

This eighteenth century church served many purposes since its construction. The actual name of the Basilica de Santo Domingo is Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Rosario.

The Basilica de Santo Domingo stands on the site of a Dominican monastery. The church was completed in 1793. It later housed a natural history museum and astronomic observatory. The British attempted to sieze Buenos Aires in 1806 and were holed up in the church. They were defeated and shrapnel on the Eastern Tower is a reminder of the attack. In 1835, the church was restored to the Dominican friars who built a second tower in 1856.

Today, there is a small museum called the Museo de la Basilica del Rosario that tells the story of the conflict with the British and has relics of the battle including captured British flags. The courtyard has a large mausoleum of General Manuel Belgrano, an Argentine national hero who was born and died near the basilica. The mausoleum was created by Hector Ximinez. It has a large red granite base and two bas reliefs depicting the presentation of the flag and the battle of Tucumen. The richly ornamented interiors have shrines dedicated to saints and plaques in honor of the brave soldiers who defeated the British and prevented an invasion.