This Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Rosario residents and visitors will be able to tour the Palacio Vasallo building as part of the Open House event.
Among the spaces that those interested will be able to visit are the Puerto Argentino Hall, Presidency, Hall of Agreements, session venue, Gallery of the Arts (upper floor oval), terrace and dome.
In the “Alfredo Palacios” annex, where meetings of the working committees usually take place, you can tour the ground floor, the first floor, the patio, the Memory Room and the terrace.
Open House is an annual architecture festival born in London and currently present in more than 50 cities around the world. In Rosario, it has been celebrated since 2018 and at the local level it is in its seventh edition.
The coordination of the activity that will be carried out in the Municipal Council is in charge of members of the Architecture Department.
Vassal Palace
Located at Córdoba 501, it was designed and built by Alejo Infante, Segundo Taiana, José Gerbino and Carlos López between 1911 and 1938.
Located in front of the National Historical Monument to the Flag, the Vassallo Palace has housed the session venue of the city’s Municipal Council since May 18, 1951. It was donated to the municipal State by the Entre Ríos surgeon, landowner and philanthropist Bartolomé Vassallo along with a collection of artistic objects.
The old Deliberative Council functioned in the 19th century in the Palacio de los Leones (headquarters of the Municipality of Rosario) where the councilors met in an area adjacent to the mayor’s office.
Then, the Council moved to its current location, known as the Vasallo Palace, where it met for the first time on May 25, 1952.
The building is listed as historical heritage of the city. It has a ground floor and an upper floor located at the intersection of 1º de Mayo and Córdoba streets. Originally built as a family residence, it is located on a corner lot with a slope on both sides.
The double entrance is proposed in the ochava and allows vehicular passage to the two streets. Through it you access the hall, illuminated from above by the oval opening formed by the balconies on the upper level. The façade is composed of two panels of identical resolution articulated at the corner. Its wall ends in a cornice with a blind upper railing, which is interrupted by the octave cylinder covered by a dome finished with a spire.
In December 2015, an infrastructure and resources study was ordered to finally modernize the session venue, recover floors, furniture and objects of heritage value, and reconstruct the façade, restore the dome and recondition internal offices and meeting spaces, among others. works inaugurated in November 2017.
Annex “Alfredo Palacios”
The building where meetings are currently held and work commissions operate – a three-story neocolonial house – was built in 1928 by Silvio Miraglia.
The property of heritage value was acquired in October 2011 and starting in 2016, an enhancement and refunctionalization of the spaces was planned to adapt them to legislative work.
In August 2019, the execution of works began and a year later the reopening of the property was completed with the definitive transfer of the commissions. The renovations included the facades and meticulous manual work to restore the stained glass windows, canopies and details of the house. Among the most notable details are its stained glass windows, true architectural and decorative treasures.
The interventions included access ramps and an elevator at the entrance to the building that allows access to the different rooms. Bathrooms were also added on the ground floor and it will have two large rooms to hold work meetings. One of them was expanded to be used as a Multipurpose Room (SUM).
