Rosedal de Palermo
The Rosedal de Palermo, also called Paseo del Rosedal, is a beautiful traditional park in the city of Buenos Aires that is located in the Palermo neighborhood. This Walk is part of the complex known as “Tres de Febrero Park”, and has 18,000 rose bushes of multiple colors.
The history of this beautiful place goes back more than a century. Originally, the land on which the Rose Garden is located was known as “Bañado de Palermo” and belonged to Juan Manuel de Rosas. On February 3, 1852, Rosas was defeated in the battle of Caseros. It was then that, by Provincial Decree No. 1474 of February 16 of that same year, it was established that “… all properties belonging to Don Juan Manuel de Rosas existing in the territory of the province of Buenos Aires are public property.” thus expropriating the Palermo land where the park is currently located.
On November 11, 1875, the “Tres de Febrero Park” was officially inaugurated. This event had the official presence of the then President of the Republic, Nicolás Avellaneda, who planted an "American magnolia from the primitive forest" which is still preserved. Its name coincides with the date on which the fall of Rosas in the Battle of Caseros is commemorated. In its beginnings, this park was delimited to the east by the current Ugarteche Street, and to the west by the Arroyo Maldonado.
Between 1910 and 1914, Joaquín Anchorena, who at that time was mayor of Buenos Aires, promoted the idea of creating a rose garden in the city, influenced by Parisian gardens. And he commissioned this construction to the agronomist Benito Carrasco, a disciple of the architect and landscaper Carlos Thays. The landscaper had been director of the thesis with which Carrasco graduated, at the age of 23, as an agricultural engineer at the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Buenos Aires. When Thays left the Directorate of Walks of the then Municipality of Buenos Aires, in 1913, after 22 years of management, Carrasco took the position of his teacher and worked largely under the directives of the famous French architect.
The garden was located on a 3.4 hectare property, currently located between Avenidas Infanta Isabel, Iraola, and Pte. Pedro Montt. Previously, the pavilions of the Argentine provinces had been located on this site during the development of the Industrial Exhibition of 1910.
The work was completed between May 5 and November 22, 1914. At that time, 14,650 rose bushes of 1,189 varieties ranging from snowy white to blood red were planted and were placed according to the harmony and contrast of their colors. The garden was completed by a long Greek-style pergola that still borders the lake today, a pavilion and a pier. In addition, an access bridge of Hellenic Greek architecture was built that today is one of the characteristic hallmarks of the Rose Garden and serves to enter from Avenida Infanta Isabel. This garden was inaugurated on November 24, 1914, four months after the outbreak of the First World War and as a late expression of the Belle Époque of Buenos Aires.
In 1920, when the country was returning to its Hispanic roots, the idea arose of annexing a Spanish-style garden. The person in charge of designing it was Eugenio Carrasco, Benito's brother and Benito's successor as director of Paseos, who proposed ponds with water, rectangular fountains with spouts in the shape of frogs, and small fountains with basins and jets. This sector of the promenade was completed in October 1929, when the Seville City Council gave the Patio-Glorieta Andaluz to Buenos Aires. Today it is known as the Garden of the Poets, because there are 26 busts of poets and writers, including Antonio Machado, Benito Pérez Galdós and Federico García Lorca, Argentines such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonsina Storni and Enrique Larreta, and Latin Americans such as Amado Nervo. , Alfonso Reyes, Miguel Ángel Asturias and José Martí.
Over the years, the walk deteriorated due to neglect and abandonment. In 1989 some repairs were made to the main bridge and the pergola.
In 1994, the YPF company and the “Green Spaces Sponsorship Program” made it possible to begin the recovery of the Park by restoring all the monuments, the Andalusian Patio and plants, which lasted just over two years, respecting the original plans of the park. engineer Carrasco according to the 1914 plans.
In 2008 another arrangement was made thanks, again, to the collaboration of the YPF company. At that time, 5,000 new rose bushes were planted. In addition, specialists restored the monuments and ornaments, a sprinkler system was installed that was adapted to the new water needs, the lighting and the five fountains were restored, benches were replaced and the perimeter fence was improved. The reopening ceremony was attended by the then president Cristina Fernández and the then Head of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri.
Because it is a space that makes up the identity of the City and Tres de Febrero Park, to protect it and give it a legal framework, the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires decided on April 14, 2011 to declare it “Cultural Heritage of the City of Buenos Aires". This means that any restoration or new work done must respect the original design.
In 2012, driven by the Argentine Rosculture Association, the Rose Garden competed against the “World Federation of Rose Societies”, which includes 40 countries. The nomination occurred a few years after the meticulous restoration work to which the garden was subjected. The nomination was endorsed by the Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires and was a complete success, as it obtained the most important international distinction given to rose gardens in recognition of its beauty, its history and its educational value: the “Garden Excellence Award” (Garden of Excellence Award). And it was the first garden in South America to obtain this distinction. In 2014, the plaque commemorating the achievement of the important recognition was placed.
Once a year, the “International New Rose Contest of the City of Buenos Aires” is held in the Rose Garden, in which rose bushes sent by breeders (those who grow new plant varieties) from Germany and France, mainly, are awarded.
Among the 93 species of roses it houses, the most common are the Sevillian rose, bright red, the Johann Strauss, the Charles Aznavour and the Frederic Mistral (all three, with pink tones) and the Elina, light yellow.
The Rose Garden of Palermo combines the best of nature with entertainment and healthy living, since hundreds of people attend it daily to enjoy a walk, jog, do gymnastics or ride a bicycle, skateboard or rollers, or, simply, to enjoy its undeniable beauty.
References and Photographs:
Fotografía (ca. 1916) de la colección de la Dirección Municipal de Paseos de Buenos. Se puede ver la Avenida de los Lagos (hoy Infanta Isabel) y El Rosedal. (A la derecha puede verse el puente peatonal). Barrio de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosedal_de_Palermo#/media/Archivo:Parque_Tres_de_Febrero_(1916).jpg
Fotografía El Rosedal - 00/00/1920 - [Id: 361] Ubicación sin precisar. Fuente:Album de Fototipias Peuser. Buenos Aires, 1921. Lat: -34.570644057817304 - Long: -58.4173133969307 - Dirección: ZZ - Plano: 0. http://www.cienciayfe.com.ar/buenosaires/mirarx3.php?nroid=361
Fotografía Lago del Rosedal - 00/00/1920 - [Id: 362] Fuente:Album de Fototipias Peuser. Buenos Aires, 1921. Lat: -34.5703922765962 - Long: -58.4165060520172 - Dirección: NO - Plano: 2. http://www.cienciayfe.com.ar/buenosaires/mirarx3.php?nroid=362
Castro, Ángeles. “En su centenario la belleza del Rosedal de Palermo fue reconocida con un premio internacional”. Diario La Nación .25/11/2014: https://www.lanacion.com.ar/buenos-aires/en-su-centenario-la-belleza-del-rosedal-de-palermo-fue-reconocida-con-un-premio-internacional-nid1746671
“No se podrá modificar el Rosedal”. Diario Clarín. 15/04/2011: https://www.clarin.com/capital_federal/podra-modificar-Rosedal_0_HJU9V3XTwQe.html
http://www.arcondebuenosaires.com.ar/jardines_historicos.htm
https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/areas/med_ambiente/parque_3_de_febrero/resena_historica.php?menu_i
07/2021
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