CARMEN
DE PATAGONES
is a slow-paced
town with a
small historical
centre,
attractively
sited on a small
hill on the
northern bank of
the
Río Negro
. Patagones was
the symbolic
gateway to
Patagonia from
its founding in
1779 to at least
the Campaign of
the Desert a
hundred years
later, and you
can spend a
pleasant couple
of hours
exploring this
legacy. Across
the water is the
town's dull
sister,
VIEDMA .
People living in
Patagones say
that the best
thing about flat
Viedma is the
view of it from
Patagones' main
Plaza 7 de
Marzo , and
you certainly
won't miss much
if this is as
close as you
get. In the
1980s, President
Alfonsín's
government
declared that
Viedma was to be
the future
federal capital
of Argentina
instead of
Buenos Aires.
Needless to say,
the plan bombed.
Founded by
Francisco de
Viedma,
Patagones was
the second of
the strategic
settlements
created to
fortify the
Patagonian coast
from the
incursions of
English and
Portuguese
pirates, and the
only one to
survive in the
long term. The
first families
came direct from
Spain, many from
the Maragatería
region of León
in Old Castile,
and inhabitants
of the town are
known to this
day as
Maragatos .
Their first
houses were
caves
excavated in the
cliff face.
Patagones'
finest hour came
on March 7,
1827, during the
fledgling
Argentine
Republic's war
with Brazil over
the Banda
Oriental
(present-day
Uruguay), when a
force of local
militiamen
outwitted a far
superior force
of Brazilian
troops who tried
to storm the
town in reprisal
for raids on
Brazilian ships.
The two vast
standards they
captured can be
seen in the
Neoclassical
Iglesia
Parroquial
Nuestra Señora
de Carmen
(8am-noon &
3-8pm) on the
Plaza 7 de Marzo.
Built between
1880 and 1885
and named after
the settlement's
protector
Virgin, this
twin-towered
edifice was the
first Salesian
church in
Patagonia and
replaced the
earlier fort
church. Of the
original fort,
only the stone
watchtower, the
Torre del
Fuerte ,
survives, now
dwarfed by the
neighbouring
church. Dating
back to 1780,
it's Patagonia's
oldest building.
Patagones also
has a
well-presented
and informative
Museo
Histórico ,
opposite the
ferry to Viedma,
at J.J. Viedma
64 (Mon-Fri
10am-noon &
2.30-4.30pm, Sun
5-7pm; free).
