Barolo Palace, Skyscraper in Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Barolo Palace is a 100-meter office tower at 1370 Avenida de Mayo in Monserrat, Buenos Aires, with 22 floors and a reinforced-concrete structure in an eclectic style. Its pale facade has stacked rounded bay windows, projecting balconies and a corner tower capped by a dome with a lighthouse.
Italian architect Mario Palanti completed this structure in 1923, making it the tallest building in South America. It held this record until 1935, when other taller constructions rose in the region.
The building is named after Luis Barolo, the Italian immigrant textile entrepreneur who commissioned it in 1919; he died before its 1923 inauguration. Its design follows Dante's Divine Comedy: the ground floor and basement represent Hell, floors 1–14 Purgatory, and floors 15–22 Heaven, with the lighthouse standing for Empyrean. The lobby's nine vaulted archways, decorated with Latin inscriptions and monster statues, correspond to the nine circles of Hell.
Guided tours allow access to different floors and the lighthouse at the top, offering views toward Avenida de Mayo and the Congress building. The visit takes around an hour and follows a set route through stairways and elevators.
The tower spire aligns with the Southern Cross constellation on July 9, Argentine Independence Day, following astronomical calculations. This alignment came from the precise positioning of the dome during construction in the early 20th century.
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