page_title: Congressional Plaza
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Congressional Plaza / Overview
caption_attribution_description: Español: Plaza Mariano Moreno vista desde la esquina de Rivadavia y Virrey Cevallos, Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
context_page_description: Congressional Plaza is a public park facing the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires. The plaza is part of a 3 hectare open space comprising three adjoining plazas to the east of the Congress building. The Kilometre Zero for all Argentine National Highways is marked on a milestone at the Plaza.
context_section_description: Facing Congress, Congressional Plaza itself is dominated by the Monument to the Two Congresses, the work of Belgian sculptor Jules Lagae set on a Neoclassical esplanade designed by his fellow countryman, architect Henri d'Huicque, and completed in 1914. It was named in honor of the Constitutional Assembly of 1813, the first local attempt to create national law, and the Congress of Tucumán of 1816, which declared Independence from the Spanish Empire, and many locals refer to the plaza by that name. The monument's centerpiece, the Allegory of the Republic, and the remaining bronze allegories are set entirely in stone from Nancy, France. The monument is also known for its adjoining terraced fountain and its bronze Neptunes, the scene of light shows and the accompanying music by George Gershwin and Jacques Offenbach, early in the 20th century.
  Suffering from repeated vandalism in the years since 1983, particularly, a decorative gated fence was erected around the monument in 1999. The opening of the gates by popular demand in 2002 resulted in renewed vandalism, and a new fence was installed in 2006, during renovations on the monument and fountain.
  The three plazas and the Monument to the Two Congresses were designated a National Historic Monument by President Carlos Menem in 1997.
caption: Mariano Moreno Plaza
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