Villa Hortensia, National historical monument in Rosario, Argentina.

Villa Hortensia is a two-storey mansion on Warnes Street in Barrio Alberdi, Rosario, built in 1890 and attributed to architect Boyd Walker. Its cream facade has a projecting portico of four tall smooth columns on high bases, carrying a balustraded balcony; behind them are tall arched openings and glass-panelled doors. A row of rectangular windows sits under a balustraded roofline with a central curved pediment, side wings have arched ground-floor windows, and a wide staircase with a central ramp leads to the entrance.

Built in 1890 by architect Herbert Boyd Walker for José Nicolás Puccio, founder of the then autonomous Alberdi, the mansion passed in the early 1900s to Ciro Echesortu and then to Alfredo Rouillon, husband of María Hortensia Echesortu, from whom it takes its name. Neglected until it faced demolition, it was declared a National Historic Monument in 1989. The Municipality of Rosario bought it on 30 May 1996 and reopened it as the first Municipal District Centre on 13 October 1997.

The name comes from María Hortensia Echesortu, wife of Alfredo Rouillón, who bought the house after Ciro Echesortu. The Rouillón family used it as a summer residence, drawn by the rural surroundings, the nearby Paraná River and the shade of its trees. Today it houses a marriage office and municipal service desks.

Villa Hortensia stands at Warnes 1917 in Barrio Alberdi, in north-eastern Rosario, about 1.5 km from the services residents once reached by a 40-minute bus ride downtown. It reopened on 11 October 1997 as the city's first Municipal District Centre, so the citizen assistance office, the Municipal Bank delegation, the water, gas and power company offices and the marriage office receive neighbours during administrative hours. Visitors come for these procedures rather than for a museum visit.

Villa Hortensia was built for José Nicolás Puccio, founder of the then-autonomous settlement of Alberdi, which later became a Rosario neighbourhood. The mansion's name comes not from him but from María Hortensia Echesortu, wife of later owner Alfredo J. Rouillón.