Plaza Independencia

Plaza Independencia is the heart of Montevideo and the hinge between two eras of the city. On one side lies the Ciudad Vieja (Old Town), the original settlement; on the other, the 18 de Julio avenue that leads into the modern centre. For most of the 18th century a Spanish citadel stood here, and the surviving stone gateway, the Puerta de la Ciudadela, still marks the edge of the old fortified town.

At the centre of the square rises the statue and mausoleum of José Gervasio Artigas, the national hero regarded as the father of Uruguayan independence. His remains rest in a solemn underground chamber beneath the plaza, guarded day and night.

Around the square stand landmarks from very different periods: the elegant Solís Theatre, Uruguay's oldest, and the Palacio Salvo, an eccentric 1920s skyscraper that was for a time the tallest building in South America. Standing in the plaza, you can read the whole story of Montevideo in a single turn of the head.