Plaza Moreno, La Plata

Moreno Square is located in the city of La Plata, Province of Buenos Aires, Republic of Argentina. It is located between 50th, 54th, 12th and 14th streets.

This square is the main square of the city, occupying the official center of the city and being the place where the founding ceremony of La Plata took place on November 19th, 1882. It is one of the largest squares in Argentina with almost 8 hectares, and was designed with total symmetry, according to the taste of the nineteenth century by the French.

Until 1901 it was known as "Plaza Principal" or "Plaza Municipal", but after that year it received its current name in homage to the secretary of the First Junta. Moreno had his respective monument in the square in front of the Municipal Palace, which was a pyramid with the statue of liberty at the top and near the base the statue of the hero. In 1910 this monument was demolished and the statue of Moreno was taken to the city of Pergamino, where it remains. It was not until 1999 that a statue of Moreno was placed again in the homonymous square, when the sculptor's work was inaugurated.

Ricardo Dalla Lasta.

In 1912 four fountains were placed in reference to the Four Seasons of the year, made by the French artist Mathurin Moreau. Initially they were placed facing the corners of the square. They were made with the technique of cast iron and placed one in each quadrant of the square.

In the 1940s the original design of the square was reformed. The central fountain was removed, the sculptures "The Ocean" and "Agriculture" were moved to Saavedra Park and Olazábal Square, and the sculptures of the Four Seasons were relocated. In addition, palm trees were removed and several trees such as lime trees, cedars and cypresses were planted. New places for circulation are diagrammed, seeking to continue the design of the layout of the city.

The sculpture "The Divine Archer" dates from 1924 and was placed in the square in 1970; it is the work of Troiano Troiani, who was granted a scholarship by the Argentine government to bring his work to the country. The sculpture was inspired by Bourdelle's "Hercules the Archer" and was made with the technique of modelling in the style of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. According to a now disproved local urban myth, it was placed by members of the Argentine Freemasonry pointing towards the cross of the cathedral, to show their differences with the Catholic Church.

It also concentrates two of the great architectural works of the city. On 12th Street is the Municipal Palace inaugurated in 1888, and on 14th Street is the Cathedral, opened in 1902 but only finished in 1999, when its Gothic style towers were completed. The City Hall of La Plata is flanked by twin buildings that make up the Government Administrative Center of the Province of Buenos Aires. Called Tower 1 and Tower 2, they were designed in 1970 but their construction progressed slowly, completed only in 1987.

Other notable buildings on the edges of Moreno Square are the Escuela Normal 1 "Mary O. Graham", opened in 1932; and the Dardo Rocha Museum and Archive, former home of the founder of the city, and one of the oldest in La Plata, dating from 1885.

The square has 18 gardens with green fences and a variety of trees. Every year the anniversary of the foundation of the city is celebrated here, with free concerts and fireworks.