Cabildo of Montevideo
Colonial town hall on Plaza Matriz, now the city's historical museum and archive.
The building was designed by the Spanish architect Tomás Toribio and built between 1804 and 1812 to house the town council, the court and the gaol of colonial Montevideo. Its two storeys of dressed stone, arcaded lower gallery and balconied upper floor face the Plaza Matriz opposite the cathedral, and it remains the clearest example of late colonial civil architecture in the country. The council chamber upstairs saw the debates that followed the revolution of 1810.
The city took over the building for its historical museum, which shows furniture, costume, arms, silver, maps and paintings tracing Montevideo from its foundation in 1724. The rooms of the old cabildo, the court and the cells can be walked through, and a large collection of prints and photographs documents the growth of the city. Temporary exhibitions, concerts and talks are held in the courtyard and galleries, and the museum keeps a research library and a historical archive.
Highlights
- Late colonial town hall designed by Tomás Toribio
- Council chamber and cells of the old gaol
- Collections of furniture, silver, arms and costume
- Prints and photographs recording the growth of Montevideo
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