The Jesuit Block of Córdoba

In the centre of Córdoba, Argentina's second city, stands the Manzana Jesuítica, the Jesuit Block, a remarkably complete group of early buildings from which the Jesuit order ran education and religion across the region in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and which is now a World Heritage Site. At its heart are the Jesuit church, whose ceiling was built like an upturned ship's hull in cedar because stone vaulting was beyond the local means, the college that became the National University of Córdoba, one of the oldest in South America, and the domestic buildings around them. The listing also takes in the estancias, the country estates in the hills outside the city whose farms and workshops paid for it all, several of which survive with their churches and can be visited. Together they tell the story of a whole economic and cultural system, not just a set of monuments.

What you actually see

• The Jesuit Church - with its cedar ceiling built like an inverted ship's hull.
• The National University of Córdoba - one of the oldest universities in the Americas.
• The Montserrat College - the historic secondary college in the block.
• The estancias - the country estates in the hills that funded the system.

When to go

March to November avoids the hottest summer weeks; Córdoba is a lively student city year-round. The city-centre block is easily seen in a morning, while the outlying estancias need a car or tour and a further half-day or day. Weekdays let you see the university in use.

Honest expectations

The city-centre buildings are compact and take only a few hours; seeing the full World Heritage picture means also driving out to the estancias in the sierras, which is a separate excursion. Córdoba is a busy working city rather than a tourist town, so the block sits amid ordinary urban bustle. Opening hours and guided-tour times for the university and museum are worth checking ahead.

Nearby

The Punilla valley and the sierras with the estancias lie in the hills outside the city; Alta Gracia has another estancia and museum.