Metropolitan Cathedral

The Catedral Metropolitana on the Plaza de Mayo is the main Catholic church of Argentina and mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. Before Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis in 2013, he served here for 15 years as archbishop, an association that gave the cathedral global attention. The 19th-century facade looks surprisingly like a Greek temple, with twelve Corinthian columns representing the twelve Apostles; behind it lies a three-nave Baroque interior whose first versions date back to 1593 and have been rebuilt several times. The most striking feature inside is the mausoleum of national hero Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru, guarded by a permanent honour guard of the Granaderos a Caballo. Admission is free, and small leaflets at the entrance explain the building's history.