Argentina Guide
The Litoral and the Gran Chaco
Museo Histórico Provincial Dr Julio Marc
Address: Parque de la Independencia
Opening time: Thurs & Sat 3–6pm, Sun 10am–1pm
This large and well-organized museum contains a vast collection of exhibits spanning the whole of Latin America. Among its most notable collections are those dedicated to Latin American religious art, with a stunning eighteenth-century silver altar from Alto Peru, which was used for the Mass given by Pope John Paul II when he visited the city in 1987, and some fine examples of polychrome works in wood, wax and bone, representing the famed Quiteña School (named after the capital of Ecuador). In the room dedicated to San Martín, look out for the strange navigational instrument known as an astronomical ring, used by San Martín during his historic crossing of the Andes: the piece's curiosity value lies in the fact that it was already somewhat archaic in San Martín's time. There's also an important collection of indigenous American ceramics, including some valuable musical pieces known as whistling glasses (vasos silbadores) from the Chimú culture of northern Peru and some stunningly well-preserved and delicate textiles. Parque de la Independencia can easily be reached on foot from the centre – it's a particularly attractive walk along the Paseo del Siglo and the Bulevar Oroño, or you can take buses #129 and #123 from Rioja. Price: Free