Visit to the Casa Rosada

A Solemn Building and Accessible To All
On a sunny Sunday morning, once we got through the arcade on 50, Balcarce Street, City of Buenos Aires on the entrance of the Casa Rosada, a woman invited us to get inside the patio, the gathering place where visitors are ready to start the tour.

“We are about to start the tour, please wait here. You may take some pictures with grenadiers, if you wish.”

One by one and in a shy way, Argentinian people and foreigners started to stand up among the grenadiers while a friend, partner or a relative took the picture.

Staircases, Hallways and Patios

Once a reasonable number of visitors had gathered at the entrance, we started the tour. The grenadiers introduced themselves and explained to us where we were and the meaning of each room. In this way, we went past the staircases used by the press and the patio where a statue in homage to Manuel Belgrano stands.

Steps forward, when the first grenadier left us and we went on with the second one, we arrived at the so-called Palm Trees Patio. This section of the Casa Rosada used to serve as the residence of the viceroys and it was in this patio where they welcomed their honorable visitors.

The peaceful sound of the fountain made us think for a while about the Argentinian elite society of those times as the grenadier allowed us to take more pictures.


The White Room

Going up one of the staircases of honor, also known as the Italia Staircase, we reached the second floor, where we could visit the North, South and the White Rooms, used for all kinds of meetings.

The White Room has been the customary place for presidents to hold the most important ceremonies; for instance, the ceremony by which the elected head of state holds office and receives the command attributes: the presidential sash and baton.

As we stayed in these rooms, we were captivated not only by the magnificence of the building and distinctive decoration but also by the fact that we were in a place where the most historically significant events have occurred.

Another staircase of honor led us to the first floor and from such section we headed towards what we thought was the starting point: The Honor
Hall and the Gallery of Busts. This is the access point, where presidents and special guests enter the house. We took more pictures and immediately afterwards we got through the door.

As we left behind the government house, we could not avoid the feeling that we had visited only a small part of this huge building. However, we knew that we had not visited a museum, which was probably the difference with the rest of our tours, that is, we did not visit a place where historical events are on display, but a place where history really happens.