Cabildo (Cordoba Town Hall), Cordoba (must see)

The Cabildo is one of the oldest civic buildings in the historic centre and helps visitors understand public life from the colonial period to modern times. Its history began in the late 16th century with a modest adobe structure. Over time, it became a centre of government, justice, administration, and imprisonment, used by officials, traders, soldiers, prisoners, and local residents.

The building’s present colonial character is mainly linked to late 18th-century works, especially the long arched gallery on the façade. Spanish authorities ordered the upgrades, while skilled Indigenous and Jesuit-trained artisans carried out much of the masonry, carpentry, and woodwork. Its arches, thick walls, patios, and upper rooms reflect a practical colonial design, while a later clock-and-bell tower was removed during restoration work to recover an earlier appearance.

The Cabildo also had varied cultural uses. Before formal theatres developed, one of its patios hosted early public performances, turning an administrative building into a social and artistic space. Local folklore connects some upper windows with secret colonial romances. Its political history also reaches 1810, when Santiago de Liniers and other royalists led a counter-revolution linked to Córdoba before Liniers was captured in the countryside and executed at Cabeza de Tigre.

Today, the Cabildo serves as a cultural and historical space, with exhibitions, guided visits, tourist services, concerts, and museum rooms. Its courtyards, galleries, and underground areas reveal layers of use as town hall, prison, government seat, police space, and cultural centre. A section linked to the former D2, used during the last dictatorship, is now a Space for Memory, connecting the colonial past with later histories of state violence, resistance, and remembrance.