San Ignacio Miní - Misiones

Mankind heritage / world cultural heritage

Many years ago I visit for the very first time the Ruins.The day after we enjoyed the
natural show of the Iguazú Waterfalls, we traveled inland in the Province of Misiones. This
time we visited the famous Ruins of San Ignacio Miní, declared World Heritage by UNESCO
in 1984.
We would be visiting one of the most emblematic Jesuit reductions in America, the
one featuring the best restoration conditions as compared with other reductions in the
Order. We already knew that the aim of this mission was to evangelize the Guaraní
natives.
After traveling along National Route 12 for three hours heading Southwards, we
arrived at the village of San Ignacio, where the ruins are located.
We paid for the entrance ticket and we entered the mission that gives testimony of
the labor done by the Jesuits, where the native culture once mingled with the European
heritage without any kind of violence.
Today, only vestiges remain of a settlement where science and art were part of the
union between the white man and the guaraní people.
A local guide told us the history of the mission and talked about the various ups
and downs it had to go through until the Jesuit Order was expelled by King Charles III of
Spain.
As we moved about the venue, we started to admire various buildings made with
red sandstone blocks.
The layout of the city is one of the most notorious works carried out by the Jesuits.
The plaza de armas –turned into a central yard nowadays–, the cabildo (ancient town
hall), the church and the houses of the religious men and the natives, the hospital, the
college, the workshops and the stores are part of the buildings that have given shape to
this settlement.
Life in the mission used to revolve around the square. The main entrance was a
central street whose perspective was focused on the church façade. That was our next
destination.