Esoteric architecture, references to the Divine Comedy, and the dream of recovering the remains of the great Italian poet. Discover the secrets of Buenos Aires’ first skyscraper and how to climb to its glass dome to have Buenos Aires at your feet.
In July 1923, Avenida de Mayo witnessed the birth of a giant. Designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti at the request of textile magnate Luis Barolo, the Barolo Palace reached for the Buenos Aires sky at a height of 100 meters. It was immediately crowned the tallest building in all of South America, an impressive record it held until the construction of the Kavanagh Building in the 1930s.
A Secret Mausoleum and the Divine Comedy
But behind its imposing and eclectic façade lay an almost mystical purpose. Palanti and Barolo, both fervent admirers of Dante Alighieri, feared that Europe would descend into another war that would destroy its greatest cultural treasures. Their master plan was to transfer the author’s ashes from Ravenna to Buenos Aires to protect them.
To achieve this, the entire building was designed as a gigantic and detailed homage to the Divine Comedy: the ground floor and its dark passageways represent Hell; the middle floors are Purgatory; and the upper dome symbolizes Paradise. Every detail, from its 100-meter height (representing the 100 cantos of the poem) to its 22 floors (the stanzas of its verses), is mathematically calculated.
A beacon to Buenos Aires’ paradise
The plan failed, and Dante’s ashes never made it to Argentina, but the monument remains for posterity. Today, more than a hundred years after its inauguration, the Barolo opens its doors, transforming from a simple commercial office building into a cultural beacon of the city.
The highlight of this “Dantesque Paradise” is the rotating beacon with 300,000 spark plugs located at the top, which has been restored and continues to be lit every week. Through guided night tours, you can explore its corridors filled with symbolism and climb its narrow staircases to the upper observation decks. Up there, amid gargoyles and period windows, one of the city’s most magical experiences awaits you: watching the sunset cast its glow over the dome of the National Congress and the Plaza de los Dos Congresos, illuminated by a lighthouse with over a century of history.
