Churches and Monuments

Salta’s Cathedral

On the first day of the foundation of Salta, the building sites for the construction of the main buildings were appointed, including the so-called “Main Church”; the parish house was built on the apple to the north of the square.

The current church is the result of three other constructions. The first one must have been a very simple one, as the style of the constructions of those times was and as it corresponded to the colonial situation. It must have had adobe walls and a few windows. It did not have bells nor important figures.

Since the construction was very simple, this first building started to break quickly; therefore, the construction of the second one started almost in the same place. According to what the people from those times stated, it is known that this second church had two towers and a dome in the center.

This second building was the one that survived the earthquake on September 13th, 1692, a very important date in the history of our Lord and of the Virgen del Milagro (Virgin of the miracle). The earthquake movements made one image of the virgin fall but it didn’t break, this image was the one of the Immaculate Conception that was placed in one of the towers. This fact was interpreted as a first sign of “a secret warning from God”. In those times the Jesuit fathers remembered that there was an image of the Holy Christ that had been kept in the vestry for more than a hundred years without having ever been exposed. 

At that time, the image was placed in front of the church that the Company of Jesus had in the city center, in front of the main square and only a few meters from the image of the virgin that had escaped the earthquake. From there on, the earthquakes ceased and the people from Salta renew every year in the patron’s festivities on September 15th the faith displays towards the Lord and the Miracle Virgin.

The current church started to be built in 1858 and it was finished after several inconveniences in 1883.

This church’s architectonic style is neocolonial, of the Italian current and it has a rectangle floor with three naves, a presbytery and a semicircular apse in the high altar. The transept is very high, with a central dome. The side aisles have stained glass windows to let light in. The style of the access door is baroque.

The image of crucified Christ (Lord of Miracles) is worshiped and there is the ‘Panteón de las Glorias del Norte’, a place where the remains of Martín Miguel de Güemes, Álvarez de Arenales and Rudesindo Alvarado are still kept.

San Francisco Church

When the city was founded, some estates located one block away from the main square where gifted to the Franciscan monks. After it was rebuilt several times, the current church, the minor basilica and the San Francisco convent were finished between 1789 and 1796. However, the tower was built afterwards. In 1870 the Fray Luis Giorgi, brought Italian architects and builders to build it. Its 57 meters of height make it one of the tallest ones in the American continent. It has only one long and thin nave made of stones and double bricks.

The funeral of the casualties during the battle of Salta was held here and Manuel Belgrano attended it. It is a National Historic Monument.

San Bernardo Convent

It is one of the oldest buildings of the city of Salta and it was built during the 16th century. It was initially built as an hermitage for St. Bernardo, Salta’s first patron saint, and it must have been destroyed by an earthquake since every record from the beginnings of the 17th century has been lost. But the records show that it was in 1726 that the new building was funded to function as a hospital. As years went by, it was subject to many reforms and it was later designated to other uses until 1846 when it was gifted to the Carmelite sisters who turned the old hermitage and the hospital into the Convent of St. Bernard that currently stands. A new front door was installed, it was made of oak wood and it was carved by the Indians in 1762 and it has a great value due to the fact that the carving is one of the greatest artistic expressions by the local aborigines. It is recommended to watch closely the salonic columns that hold the lintel that also has two arches joined in the center by a drawing of leaves and a card with Christ’s initials.

It was declared National Historic Monument in 1941.

Crafts Market

It was the country’s first crafts market. It opened in 1968 in the same place where it is currently located.

The old house in which it functions was built during the 18th century. It suffered many modifications towards the end of the 19th century when it acquired its current aspect.

The style of the structure is the traditional one of this kind of buildings: thick adobe walls whitened with lime, a gallery with arches around a central patio and only one floor.

Since 1583 it belonged to an aristocratic family, the Arias Velásquezes and later it was transferred to the Jesuits who kept it until they were expelled in 1760. From there on, as every other estate that belonged to the Company, it passed to the administration of the ‘Junta de Temporalidades’.

It is located in an estate with soft waves known as Lomas de Madeiro. These terrains are also linked to the city’s history as it is told in the chronicles from 1583, the first mill in the city functioned here, a source of labor of paramount importance during those years.

San Carlos Church

This church was born as a small chapel where priests used to go, in the core of the Calchaquíes Valleys. The Calchaquíes Indians revolted and they obliged the priests to go away and they looted and burned the church. In 1666 the Jesuits, who had developed a mission called “San Carlos Borromeo” in the town of San Carlos, built the church all over again.

It has elements of an European style with a single nave made of adobe that used to have a wooden vault. After it was destroyed by an earthquake, it was rebuilt with iron and metal, so it lost its original look. The bottom of the apse has an altarpiece made of carved wood and it has a number of Hispanic images with details that stand out in every altar. In the façade, two towers surround the central arch plus an arcade sustained by columns.

This is the most beautiful church in the Calchaquies Valleys. It was declared National Historic Monument in 1942.

Cachi Church

This church was built in mid 18th century as a religious place for the Aramburu family, the former owners of the lands where it is now located.

The walls are plain and the roofs resemble a vault. On one side of the only nave there is  an adobe altar with traditional decorations from those times. The image of Christ on polychrome is the fundamental piece.

The adobe altar was later covered by another one made of wood. On both sides of this altar, other two altars were built. There is a gallery on the right side of the nave and on the left side, there are small naves or rooms with tables and benches made of clay.

In the exterior part of this church, three bells stand out. They are located in the upper part of the façade. It does not have a tower but it does have a wall with bells.

It was declared National Historic Monument in 1945.

March, 19th is the celebration of the patron’s saint day.

Monument to Güemes

On the foot of the San Bernardo hill, on the Uruguay Ave., on an eastbound direction, there is this sculpture complex that remembers the independence hero, the General Martín Miguel de Güemes.

Güemes’ figure, made of bronze, sits on a small horse, with the typical traditional characteristics of mountain horses, with strong muscles. Around this sculpture there are friezes that make reference to his military campaign.

The stairs that surround it and the pedestal are made of stones from the hills that surround Salta.

On June, 17th, homage is paid to this hero next to this monument and the central act is a parade of the ‘gaucho’ organizations from Salta and from all over the country.