The well-kept secret of Dante in Buenos Aires

One of the most overwhelmingly spellbinding buildings of Buenos Aires has to be Palacio Barolo on Avenida de Mayo, a hidden treasure off the beaten turist track. The Palace was built as a tribute to one of Italia' s greatest poets, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) of the Middle Ages, and his poetic masterpiece La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy, written circa 1308-1320). Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest works of world literature of all times, the trilogy is about the autobiographical character Dante's trip to the hereafter in the Easter week of the year 1300. That is to say, it is a human drama of the journey through the three tiers of the Christian afterlife, upward from the burning fires of Hell (the Inferno), through Purgatory, to Heaven. A trip from the darkness to the divine light.

At the terrace of the palace the green and white wall and the red roof represent the flag of Italy.

The lobby in Palacio Barolo has nine archways, representing the nine circles of hell as described in the Inferno of Dante.

This fresco painted by the Italian painter Domencio di Michelino (1417-1491) in the

cathedral in Florence shows Dante Alighieri holding a copy of his Divina Commedia.

Next to him is the entrance to Hell, the city of Florence and the seven terraces of

Mount Puratory. Above are the celestial spheres of Heaven.

With this in mind, the Italian architect Mario Palanti designed Palacio Barolo inviting visitors to progress through hell, purgatory and heaven. The project was commissioned by the eccentric Italian immigrant and cotton tycoon Luis Barolo, who obviously was very enamored of Dante. Like many European immigrants in Argentina at the time, he thought that Europe was to suffer numerous wars destroying the entire continent. Determined to preserve the ashes of Dante, he decided to build the 22nd floor block. The master work was completed in 1923, and at the time it was the tallest building in South America. The architectural represents a combination of various European architectural traditions, like neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque. There is even a dome inspired by the Jindu Rajarani Temple in India representing the union of tantric love between Dante and his beloved Beatrice, who in The Divine Comedy takes over as guide and leads Dante to Paradise when the poet and pagan Virgil cannot go further.

The central hall is decorated with dragons and other monsters,

as well as inscriptions of Latin verse.

From the rooftop lighthouse, 100-meters above the central boulevard of Avenida de Mayo,

you can capture panoramic views of Buenos Aires.

Argentinas Jorge Luis Borges said that while Dante can lay

bare a character's soul in 20 or 30 lines, a modern novel requires

hundreds of pages. This is the view from the balcony.

As the palace is describes as a marriage between literature and architecture, it tributes to the poem in every feature. Firstly the building is 100 meters, like the Divine Comedy has 100 songs (canto). Secondly the three sections of the construction are each dedicated to Dante's heaven, purgatory and hell. Thirdly the 22 floors correspond to Dante's 22 stanzas. The central passage has nine domes representing access to hell, not to mention the rooftop lighthouse, representing the nine angelic choirs, the several orders Angels are organized according to medieval Christian theologians.

To visit Palacio Barolo you need to book a tour in advance, both English and Spanish tours are offered. You can choose to go at day-time, or at night.

From on of the top balconies you can do a selfie with the Congress in the back.

Now my will and my desire were turned, like a wheel in perfect motion, by the love that moves the sun and the other stars.

(The famous last lines on the state of the soul after death in Dante’s Divine Comedy)

The twin building of Palacio Barolo is placed in Montevideo in Uruguay, on the main plaza.

It is designed by the same architect Mario Palanti.