May Pyramid, Buenos Aires

The May Pyramid, commemorating the May Revolution in Argentina, is the oldest national monument in Buenos Aires and in 1942, it was declared a National Historic Monument. Designed by architect Pedro Vicente Cañete and sculpture professor Juan Gaspar Hernández, the pyramid was completed in 1811. It was inaugurated on May 25, 1811, although it was not fully finished at that time. The original pyramid stood 13 meters tall on a 2-meter pedestal.

The current structure was built over the original pyramid designed by Cañete. In the mid-19th century, architect Prilidiano Pueyrredón was tasked with redesigning the monument. Pueyrredón transformed the old pyramid into a more ornate and artistic structure. The top of the May Pyramid was adorned with a statue of Liberty, sculpted by French artist Joseph Dubourdieu. The base of the pyramid originally featured terracotta statues by Dubourdieu symbolizing Industry, Commerce, Science, and the Arts, which were later removed and replaced with other carvings— national shield, laurel wreaths.

In 1912, the pyramid was relocated 63 meters east of its original location to make way for a larger monument that was ultimately never built. The ashes of Azucena Villaflor, the founder of the Mothers of the May Square protest movement, are buried at the base of the pyramid. Villaflor's organization, composed of mothers whose children were disappeared during Argentina's last military dictatorship, played a crucial role in the fight for human rights and accountability.