History

Rosario is one of the few Argentine cities that do not have a founder. It is not the result of an official initiative, or a colonization policy or strategic defense. Calchaquí natives wandered around the area and they were taken care of by Franciscan brothers settled at Pago del Salado.
The settlement called Pago de los Arroyos appeared around 1665 as a rural village south of the Carcarañá River. On the 29th of August of 1689 Juan Romero de Pineda was given the concession of these lands by Captain General José Herrera y Sotomayor as a reward for the services rendered to the Crown.
When Pineda died his daughters inherited the hectares and started dividing the property. During the first third of the 18th century there were several estancias (rural establishments) in the area.
Another part of the territory where Rosario is now located belonged to Estancia San Miguel, a property bought by the Jesuits in 1719.
The Santa Fe Cabildo (City Council) was founded in 1725 but the area remained a desolate place till 1725 when the first regional authority was named: the Alcalde (Mayor) de Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood). Francisco Frías, who died in poverty, was the first one to bear that position.
In 1730 the governor of the River Plate asked the ecclesiastical authorities if they could build a temple. The Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel) was constructed and the settlers built their houses around it.
The pioneers were farmers and raised cattle. They had to put with Natives’ attacks, a hostile nature and geographic isolation. In 1741 there were 248 white, Native and mulattos neighbors.
Santiago de Montenegro, who had settled in 1724, started a farming-cattle business, designed the future city, donated the plot for the plaza and the new chapel and took care of the construction of the church. He secured a privileged location for his general store-saloon and leather deposit. He was named Mayor in 1751.
The lawyer and general Manuel Belgrano organized the batteries Independencia and Libertad that took part in the fight for the independence from Spain by the Paraná River. He raised the national flag he had created for the first time on the 27th of February of 1812 and his soldiers swore allegiance to it.
The village was burnt down in 1819 by the troops from Buenos Aires under Juan Ramón Balcarce. They were retreating after fighting against the bands of guerrilla fighters led by the Santa Fe governor Estanislao López.
Despite this incident the place kept on growing and in 1823 the neighbors made a motion for it to be declared a village. In December of that same year it became a village.
In 1826 the president of the Board of Representatives of the Santa Fe Province, Juan Manuel de Soto, appointed the Chief Mayor of the Department of Rosario. This fact meant that the village had the official category of village.
The Chief Mayor post ceased to exist in 1833 due to the creation of the Peace Judge position that lasted until 1854.
The port and customs office were inaugurated in 1850.
In 1851, when the pronouncement of General Justo José de Urquiza took place, Rosario was the first city in Santa Fe to take sides with the Federal cause. It helped the Big Army on its way to Buenos Aires. After the battle of Caseros Urquiza asked the Governor of Santa Fe to raise Rosario to the category of city. Rosario became a city in 1852.
During those years the political center of the country was at the Litoral because Buenos Aires was an independent state. Rosario grew in relevance due to its port, the most important one in the Confederación Argentina.
In 1861 Bartolomé Mitre defeated Urquiza at the battle of Pavón and the city was occupied by the winners.
A parliamentary debate on where the federal capital would be located was started in 1862. An important group considered Rosario should be chosen as capital city. In four occasions Rosario was named capital by the National Congress (1867, 1868, 1869 and 1873; without counting the frustrated attempt of 1872). But every time this happened the law was vetoed by the Executive Power. First by Mitre and then three times by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento who considered that decision would disintegrate the country.
The first wheat shippings were exported to Great Britain in 1878. By 1880 Rosario had become the main exports port in Argentina. This caused a demographic increase and attracted immigration currents.
The 1887 census revealed the city had 50.914 inhabitants, 41% foreigners, mostly Spanish and Italian.
The Central Argentine Railway Club, later known as Rosario Central, one of the two most important football teams in Rosario was founded in 1889.
The 1st of May of 1890 the Italian anarchists organized the first commemoration of the Chicago massacre.
The rebellion of 1893, organized by the Partido Radical and led by Leandro Alem, took place in Rosario.
Newell’s Old Boys Club was founded in 1903 and a year later the Opera Theatre, nowadays El Círculo, was opened up to the public.
At the beginnings of the 20th century the economy was blooming and favored mainly the oligarchy. Rosario was known as “The Barcelona of South America” due to its architecture. Others called it “The Argentine Chicago”: it set the wheat price and hosted Italian mafia families and Zwi Migdal, a Polish whose business was the female slave prostitution.
The Universidad Nacional del Litoral was opened up to the public in 1919.
The first broadcasting transmission took place in 1920.
Ernesto Che Guevara, the revolutionary, was born in Rosario on the 14th of June of 1928.
In 1930 the Cosettini sisters, Olga and Leticia, opened up the Escuela Serena (Serene School). Despite the governments’ opposition it became a pedagogical experience that is nowadays studied and admired in the world.
The port was nationalized in 1942.
During Juan Perón’s two presidencies Rosario was known as the “capital of Peronism”. At that time 6858 industries employed 46.828 workers.
The Monumento Nacional a la Bandera (National Flag Monument), symbol of the city, was inaugurated on the 20th of June of 1957.
TV channels 5 and 3 started their transmissions in 1964 and 1965.
The Universidad Nacional de Rosario, originated in the Universidad del Litoral, was inaugurated in 1968.
Rosario was the scenery of a social demonstration started in Córdoba and known as the Cordobazo in 1969.
In 1978, during the military dictatorship that made thousands of Rosarinos disappear, the city was one of the seats of the Football World Cup. The matches were played at the Rosario Central stadium.
In 1982 the military government occupied the Malvinas Islands and music in English was forbidden in the media. Up to that moment it had been 100% of what the radio stations played. This favored the New Rosario Music boom with the release of the LP record Tiempos Difíciles (Hard Times) by Juan Carlos Baglietto, accompanied by the then unknown Fito Páez.
Parque España (Spain Park) was opened up to the public in 1992 with funds donated by Spain. The fences that obstructed the vision and access to the Paraná River were dismantled. The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who had visited the city in the ‘20s, had said “Rosario has locked up its river”.
The Rosario-Victoria Bridge on the Paraná River was opened up to the public in 2003. It connects the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos.
The III International Congress on Spanish Language was held at Rosario in 2004.

Geography

Location

Rosario is located at the south of Santa Fe province and is its biggest city. Rosario and Córdoba city are the main urban centers in Argentine after Buenos Aires. Rosario is 300 km.(186 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires at a strategic location regarding the MERCOSUR.
Rosario is the head of the Rosario department and the centre of the Gran (Great) Rosario metropolitan area. This area includes: Rosario, Villa Gobernador Gálvez, San Lorenzo, Pérez, Capitán Bermúdez, Granadero Baigorria, Fray Luis Beltrán, Funes and Puerto General San Martín.

Borders:

East: Paraná River
North: Granadero Baigorria and Iberlucea
West: Fúnes and Pérez
South: Soldini, Piñeiro and Villa Gobernador Gálvez.
The streams Ludueña to the north and Saladillo to the south cross the city from west to east and in some cases the streams are borders.

Surface: 17.869 hectares.(44.155 acres)

How to get there

Rosario is a stopover point because it is quite in the middle of the country and there are routes that reach it from the main cities. It is connected to Santa Fe and Buenos Aires by modern highways. National Route Nr. 9 takes you From Capital Federal to Rosario. By the year 2007 the highway will reach Córdoba too.
Many bus companies offer services from Rosario to all of the country.
The Rosario-Victoria Bridge, on the Paraná River, connects the city to Victoria, in Entre Ríos province, 65 km. (40 miles) from Rosario.
The international airport Islas Malvinas, that operates national and international flights, is 15 km. (9 miles) from the city.

Population: 945.000 inhabitants.

Economy

The city has been growing due to the industrial and commercial development motored by the new neighborhoods and villages. Almost 60% of the provincial gross product is generated at Gran Rosario where 60% of the industries are located. The main activities are: food (meat and oil processing), drinks, metal mechanic, machinery, furniture, printing, automobile parts and coachwork, clothes, rubber and plastics, non metallic minerals, petrochemical and iron and steel. Several leader international firms have placed their plants at Rosario’s industrial park.
Rosario’s main exports are: vegetable oils, grains and its sub products, sugar, citric fruits and juices.
The city provides services to a region that covers part of the provinces of Santa Fe, Córdoba and Entre Ríos.
Rosario has also developed a scientific and cultural center. It has six universities (with over 80.000 students), 18 research institutes and two technology transference institutes.
The city also has an active business center. Its privileged location and communications have turned it in to a suitable place for fairs and conferences.
Visitors will find exclusive restaurants and first class lodging.

Climate

Rosario is located at an undulated plain with mild climate. The average annual temperature oscillates between 23,4°C (74,1°F)  and 11,6°C (52,9°F). The precipitations are 1038 mm. (41 inches) per year.