Villa General Mitre Explained

Villa General Mitre
Native Name Lang:spa
Type:Neighborhood of Buenos Aires
Mapsize:150px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Argentina
Subdivision Type1:Autonomous City
Subdivision Name1:Buenos Aires
Subdivision Type2:Comuna
Subdivision Name2:C11
Parts Type:Important sites
Parts Style:para
Area Total Km2:2.2
Population Total:36090
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:ART
Utc Offset1:-3

Villa General Mitre is a neighborhood, or barrio, of Buenos Aires.

The ward has a land area of, and a population of 36,000. It was named after General Bartolomé Mitre, President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.

Villa Mitre was developed on land originally purchased by Francisco Ruiz de Gaona during the late colonial era, and he lived there until his death in 1813; Gaona Avenue, located along the ward's southern border, was named in his honor. The land was later subdivided into smallholdings mainly devoted to alfalfa, horticulture, and brick kilns. It became home to a large Italian immigrant community during the late 19th century, and in 1901 Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini founded the future Cabrini Institute here (one of 67 around the world, and her first in South America).

Initially a subdivision of the Villa Santa Rita ward to the west, Villa Mitre was formally established as such on November 6, 1908; it was named in honor of former President Bartolomé Mitre, who died in 1906. The neighborhood remained prone to flooding until work began in 1929 on converting the Maldonado Stream into an underground storm sewer, above which Juan B. Justo Avenue was inaugurated in 1936. A block-sized lot adjacent to the Cabrini Institute was purchased by the City Government in 1937 to create Sáenz Peña Square, the neighborhood's largest park. Diego Maradona Stadium, home venue for the Argentinos Juniors football team, was inaugurated in Villa Mitre in 2003.

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