San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca
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| Basic data | |||
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| Surface: | 684 km 2 | ||
| location | 28 ° 28 ′ S , 65 ° 47 ′ W | ||
| Height above d. M .: | 550 m | ||
| Population (2010): | 159,703 | ||
| Density: | 233 inhabitants / km² | ||
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| administration | |||
| Province : |
 Catamarca
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| Department : | Capital | ||
| Mayor: | Raúl Jalil (2015-2019) | ||
| Others | |||
| Postal code : | K4700 | ||
| Telephone code: | 03833 | ||
| San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca website | |||
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca (often abbreviated as Catamarca ) is a city in northwestern Argentina . It is the capital of the eponymous province Catamarca and has 159,703 inhabitants (2010). Around 200,000 people live in the metropolitan area of the city, almost 70 percent of the provincial population.
geography
Catamarca is located in the Valle de Catamarca , a valley that stretches between the mountain ranges of the Sierra de Ancasti and the Sierra de Ambato , on the Río del Valle , at the foot of the 3320 meter high Ambato, at an altitude of 533 meters. The region belongs to the Sierras Pampeanas and is generally steppe-like and dry, but has a good soil quality, which favors agriculture in the area around the city.
history
Before the actual city of Catamarca was founded, the valley around today's suburb of San Isidro del Valle Viejo was already densely populated from the end of the 16th century.
Fernando Mate de Luna founded the city in 1683 and at the same time split off the province of Catamarca from the province of Tucumán .
In 1882 the city had 8,000 inhabitants. In 1910 the Roman Catholic diocese of Catamarca was established with its seat in San Fernando. Its main church, the Catedral basílica de Nuestra Señora del Valle , was built in 1869 in neoclassical style.
The city developed slowly at first, but then became a nationally important center , mainly because of its importance as a place of pilgrimage (Virgin Mary statue, Virgen del Valle ). Nevertheless, the region remained backward and poor for a long time, which was also due to the widespread nepotism of the Saadi clan, which ruled for more than half a century and whose machinations only came to light in the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, the city and province remain politically unstable.
economy
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca is especially important as a center of the agricultural industry and here especially in the production of food. Since the 1970s, some other branches of industry also settled, although the city never achieved the dynamism of the neighboring cities of La Rioja and San Juan . Tourism is also important because of the idyllic location of the city and the colonial buildings in and around the city.
One industry for which the city is world famous is the handicraft production of carpets. However, this trade is becoming less and less important.
Worth seeing
- Museums
- Museo Folklórico "Juan Alfonzo Carrizo" (Paseo General Navarro). The museum tries to give an impression of the traditional rural life and customs of the province with the help of furniture, clothes, tools and musical instruments. The museum's name recalls Juan Alfonzo Carrizo , who collected and classified 23,000 songs from the northwest.
- Museo de Bellas Artes "Laureano Brizuela" (Sarmiento 347). The works of Laureano Brizuela , Benito Quinquela Martín , Alberto Delmonto , Vicente Forte and other artists from Catamarca, but also the rest of Argentina and other Latin American countries, are exhibited in two halls . The museum has a special library and occasionally shows exhibitions by invited artists. It is currently Catamarca's most important art gallery.
- Museo Arqueológico "Adán Quiroga" (Sarmiento 446). The archaeological museum shows mainly finds from the province of Catamarca. The time span that is bridged ranges from the first cultures that populated this province more than 10,000 years ago to the Spanish Conquista.
- Archivo Histórico / Museo Histórico (Chacabuco 425). The museum is housed in a large villa from the last century and opened in 1977. The museum has an original of the provincial constitution from 1895 and the original plan of the city of Catamarca from 1886. It also has an extensive collection of medals, old photographs and a special library. The Provincial History Museum is located in the same building.
- Museo Municipal del Deporte "Oscar" Cachín "Diaz" (Complejo Urbano Girardi, Av. Ocampo 40, opposite the Paseo Gral. Navarro.). The local sports museum commemorates the native Argentine featherweight champion in boxing Oscar "Cachín" Diaz .
sons and daughters of the town
- Ramón Castillo (1873–1944), politician and president of the country from 1942 to 1943
- Mario Antonio Cargnello (* 1952), Archbishop of Salta
- Daniel Alberto Díaz (* 1979), football player
- Darío Díaz (* 1981), racing cyclist
- Walter Olmos (1982-2002), Cuarteto singer
Web links
- IFAM population data (Spanish)
- LiveArgentina.com - City information (Spanish) ( Memento of May 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- Tourist information from Argentina Turística (Spanish)
proof
- ^ Ministry of the Interior Argentina - San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca , accessed on June 16, 2017