Punta del Este and other localities
Main
Agenda
Prior to departure
Tips
Sightseeing spots
Facts about Uruguay
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| URBAN CENTERS IN MALDONADO PROVINCE | |
| MALDONADO | The history of this city is inevitably linked |
| to its geography due to the natural vessel protection offered by Maldonado bay. In 1594, Phillip II of Spain ordered the colonization of the island of Maldonado, today called island of Gorriti, alarmed after being informed that a stone in the island was engraved with the coat of arms of Portugal. In 1600 the governor of Buenos Aires, Diego Valdez de la Banda, decided to create a port to ship the silver mined in Potosi to Spain. The initiative collapsed because the area was inhospitable: “ sand dunes, no water or wood close by”. 155 years later, in 1755, the governor of Montevideo, Joaquin de Viana, sent settlers and the city of Maldonado was born with 98 inhabitants. | |
Fulbright Uruguay
During a conflict between Spain and Portugal, Maldonado acquired importance due to its strategic position. In 1789 a Viennese traveler called Haencke, describe Maldonado as “a small village in a green plain, with humid grounds and marshes…There are 100 thatched houses at most and very few with tiles. All the walls are made of sun-dried bricks or stakes. Each house has its own back garden, growing pumpkins and fruits and climbing plants. From a distance they are charming to observe.”
In 1816 Uruguay under Spanish domination, was divided into provinces, Maldonado was one of them.
| Punta del Este previously called | |
| “Pueblo Ituzaingo” was declared a village in 1907. The Lafone brothers bought the peninsula from the Government during the Great War and offered to populate it. Since the beginning the village inhabitants lived predominantly from fishing or hunt of sea lions and whales. | |
At the end of the 19th century when a lighthouse existed, the land lots were divided and in the early 1900s chalets were built as well as the firt hotel by Pedro Risso. Tourists started flowing in as sea-swimming at the beaches in Punta del Este became popular.
The gigantic sand dunes and the repeated shipwrecks were a challenge for the city pioneers such as Francisco Aguilar, Enrique Burnett, Antonio Lussich, Francisco Piria and Francisco Bonilla who literally transformed the landscape.
Francisco Aguilar introduced camels as transport for loads and people through the sand dunes. Enrique Burnett dedicated himself to rescuing ships and planting 80,000 pine-trees on 470 acres (190 hectares) of land. Antonio Lussich in 1896 boosted forestation with the creation of 4900 acres (2000 hectares) where he planted numerous new species. Lussich park is today one of most attractive sightseeing spots in the area.
Francisco Piria, another immigrant, was the pioneer in mining granite rock from the hills and transforming the valleys into vineyards. He created the resort Piriapolis which rapidly became a tourist attraction. Francisco Bonilla in Pan de Azucar distributed the products from his vineyards to neighbor provinces and was imitated by others.
A former gateway for navigators and colonizers Punta del Este today is the most visited seaside resort in Uruguay and one of the most important tourist attractions in Latin America. The city has 8000 permanent inhabitants but in the summer it attracts over half a million visitors. The Yacht Club hosts international regattas. The city holds dozens of restaurants and casinos – the Conrad Hotel & Casino Resort was inaugurated in 1997- and cultural amenities such as the Film Festival and the Ralli Museum.
The beaches in Punta del Este are famous for their cleanness and their white sand. There are two types of beaches: "playa brava” (violent beach) has powerful waves ideal for surfing and "playa mansa" (gentle beach) shows a relatively peaceful tide. Punta del Este combines luxury with simplicity, urban life with nature, entertainment with tranquility..
| La Barra is a small village adjacent to Punta | |
del Este. It is connected by an unusual W-shaped bridge built close to the mouth of the Maldonado stream. The bridge is one of the remarkable feats of engineer Leonel Viera (1913-1975). First he planted the concrete piles in the riverbed and then he anchored the steel cables on the end points of the bridge. Over these cables he placed concrete tiles and then tons of sandbags to draw the cables. When the sandbags were withdrawn the cables recovered their original form and the concrete was drawn. In 1999 the bridge was expanded to become a two-way track.
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| Jose Ignacio is a peaceful resort, 18 km | |
| from Punta del Este that was born as a result of land estates divisions between early settlers. It is divided by a stone layer which forms two type of beaches like in Punta del Este: "playa brava” and "playa mansa”. During its existence Jose Ignacio has been a fishermen village with a scarce stable population. | |
In recent years, renowned artists and TV stars have built summer villas, bringing the place to life. Today, Jose Ignacio offers excellent seafood restaurants. In spite of the increase in the number of tourists it still retains the atmosphere of a small village
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SIGHTSEEING SPOTS |
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Declared
a national historical monument, this large neoclassic cathedral
was inaugurated in the 1890s by the archbishop of Montevideo Dr. Mariano
Soler. Objects that stand out are the magnificent high altar by sculptor
Antonio Vega and a statue of the “Virgin
of
Santander” on this altar which belonged to the steamer “Ciudad de
Santander” that shipwrecked
near
the Isla de Lobos (Sea
Lions
Island) in 1829. Another treasure is the polychromatic Christ in Agony
which was discovered in a box on the shore and whose origin and owner
are unknown. Address: 18 de Julio between 25 de Mayo and Florida Streets (Maldonado) |
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MAZZONI MUSEUM. |
It is considered one of the most |
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attractive sightseeing spots in Punta del Este. The Museum Mazzoni is in a large house built in the 1700s that belonged to historian Don Francisco Mazzoni. It features a valuable collection of Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and English art. Among the interesting objects found is the bathtub used by Charles Darwin during his visit to Uruguay.
Entry
free of charge |
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| DRAGOON QUARTERS. | The Dragoon quarters were built |
between 1771 and 1797 under the direction of Spaniard Bartolome Howel who supervised the first stage. It occupies an area of 2500 square meters. Built with ashlar rock and with a tiled roof, in colonial times it was the most important building due to its high artistic value and its military use. Uruguayan Liberator Jose G. Artigas spent the night here on March 10, 1797 as a member of the Dragoons squad. Informational displays and civil marriage ceremonies are part of its activities.
Entry
free of charge
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| RALLI MUSEUM. | Harry Recanatti, an international |
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collectionist with a passion for art, established in Punta del Este a Spanish-style museum. The museum occupies 3.000 square meters and it is located in the fashionable neighborhood Beverly Hills. It features a display of international and Uruguayan art including the most important collection of figurative Latin-American art and contemporary art. Its halls are dedicated to European artists such as Miro, Chagall and Dali and to local artists.
Entry free
of charge |
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| CASAPUEBLO | The locality of Punta Ballena, which lies at |
| the entrance of Punta del Este, was a beautiful and inhospitable place until Carlos Paez Vilaro bought land on the cliffs at the price of a cigarette box per square meter. First he raised a hut, then a house called “The Pioneer” and afterwards began to build “Casa Pueblo”, which remains unfinished like all organic works. The artist, like Gaudi, never used a plan for the construction, which hangs from the cliffs facing the West. Casa Pueblo does not have a single straight line in its interior, its coloring and setting evoke Arabian and Mediterranean constructions. Each corner of this house represents a tribute from Carlos Paez Vilaro to an ideal (love), a culture (Afro-Uruguayans) or a person for example Jorge Luis Borges. | |
Casa Pueblo houses the workshop of Carlos Paez Vilaro, featuring a collection of his paintings, sculptures and pottery. Live performances, conferences and literary readings are also scheduled regularly. In a separate sector of the construction are located the hotel and the restaurant.
| http://www.carlospaezvilaro.com |
| CARLOS PAEZ VILARO. | Plastic artist born in Montevideo |
| in 1922. His first international exhibition took place in 1958 in Punta del Este. His works are known throughout Latin America, United States and Europe. Fan and promoter of Punta del Este and Afro-Uruguayan traditions, his production has been strongly influenced by African art. | |
| PANORAMIC ROUTE. | The Panoramic route was |
| inaugurated in 1978 transforming the La Ballena hill into a place of breathtaking beauty. It occupies an extension of 2,491 square meters. The open-air observation deck Juan Diaz de Solís allows the observer to appreciate the rock formations, the fishing activities, the bay of Maldonado, the bridge of La Barra, the hill Pan de Azucar and Sierra de las Animas. You cannot leave Punta del Este without watching the sunset from this point. | |
| LAS CUMBRES. | Hotel Las Cumbres is located in a place |
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that offers the possibility of enjoying a unique view of the forests, the sea and the peninsula. The architect Ivan Holjevac built it for his family and now it has turned into a 5 star hotel. Address: Route 12 Km 3.5 |
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| LUSSICH PARK (ARBORETO LUSSICH) | In 1896 Antonio |
| Lussich bought the locality of Punta Ballena and its outskirts.It was practically waste land with some bushes. First he planted pine-trees, tamarisks, eucalyptus and acacias to protect from sea currents more exotic tree species. Lussich planted rare species such as araucarias, oaks, cypresses, cedars, lime trees, walnut trees, birch-trees, fir-trees, maple-trees, magnolias, camphor trees and other native species. He created a forest and a marine park which according to Cesar del Castillo, professor of the School of Agronomy at the University of the Republic: “besides holding one of the most important tree collections … it is above all, a product of the imagination, dedication and passion of Lussich for the forest.” The Lussich Park is today one of the most important botanical gardens in the world. It occupies 474 acres (192 hectares) and holds 420 tree species of which 350 are rare species. | |
| TILE MUSEUM (MUSEO DEL AZULEJO) | The pink-colored |
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mansion where Lussich lived with his wife and his seven daughters has become the Tile Museum, which contains one of the most important colonial floor tile collection, that belong to the architect Alejandro Artucio. The 500 tiles exhibited are of French origin and date from the mid 1800s. They are decorated with simple and schematic drawings in blue (cobalt oxide) or violet (manganese oxide).
Entry free
of charge |
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For more information about sightseeing spots in Punta del Este and in Maldonado visit www.puntadeleste.com |
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Sources: www.puntadeleste.com, Municipality of Maldonado, CD Collection Todo Uruguay from newspaper El Observador, Top Uruguay |