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Plaza Zabala

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This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit Montevideo, The Sixth Mountain From East to West

You’ve now arrived at Zabala Square, built in 1890. The idea of creating a square in the heart of the old town dates back to 1878, during the dictatorship of Colonel Lorenzo Latorre. He had the old Spanish fort torn down, and the space sat empty for years before finally being developed. In the center, they placed an equestrian statue of Bruno de Zabala, the Spanish soldier and colonial administrator who founded Montevideo in 1726, and who gave the square its name. Around the statue, French landscape architect Eduardo André designed elegant Parisian-style gardens, which he enclosed with an ornate wrought iron fence. It’s the only square in Montevideo with a fence like this, so feel free to walk up and take a closer look at the details. Some say André deliberately chose a cheeky, suggestive design to provoke reactions, though there’s no record to back that up. The street circling the square is called Durango Street, named after Zabala’s hometown in Spain. To the south of the square, you’ll see the Palacio Taranco, built in the early 20th century, when French architecture was all the rage. So it’s no surprise that the Taranco Ortiz family turned to Parisian architects for their new residence, though not just any architects. Charles Louis Girault and Jules Chifflot, who also helped design the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, were commissioned for the project. In 1943, the Uruguayan government bought the building, along with some of its furniture and artwork, and in 1972 it became the Museum of Decorative Arts. Feel free to take a look inside, the palace is still sometimes used for official government meetings and has been a national historic monument since 1975.

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