Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba by Els Slots
Cordoba is well worth a stop, but dont plan it on a Sunday, because everything is closed then, except the many churches of course which are very much alive on a Sunday. The highlights among the Unesco world heritage sites was the visit to the Jesuit library with ist amazing collections of ancient books. At one stage, this collection reached more than 6000 volumes, but after the expulsion of the Jesuits ordered by the Spanish Crown, lots of books went missing, and some ended up in the National Library in Buenos Aires.These books date from the early XVIth century onwards, and were written i n Latin, Greek, Spanish etc, as well as in vernacular languages like Quechua.Some are richly decorated with copper engravings and woodcuts.I have seen a fine example of a justice book dating from 1539 written in Basel, Switzerland.
The latest addition to the Jesuit library is the collection of ambassador Ferrer Vieyra which was donated to the museum in 2001.It consists of 387 beautiful books, among them are 22 incunables that were printed before 1500 and are out outstanding historical significance.
Other places that you should include in your visit are the Manzana Jesuitica, La Compania and the Capilla Domestica that was closed this time for renovation. The main Cathedral on beautiful Plaza San Martin has a richly decorated interior, attractive stained glass windows, and a wonderful ceiling.
We also did the half day trip to Alta Gracia, take Sarmiento buses from the Minibus terminal in Gordoba for the 45 minutes trip.Visit the Estancia Jesuitica and the Ernesto Che Guevara museum where the young revolutionary lived in his childhood.