Location: 230 mi (370 km) East of Corrientes, Misiones Province Map
Constructed: 1632
Official site
San Ignacio Miní is located 230 mi (370 km) East of Corrientes, Misiones Province in Argentina. San Ignacio Miní is famous for ruins of the Jesuit mission from the 17th century. Due to its historic importance San Ignacio Miní was designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. San Ignacio Miní is a historic archaeological site of a former Roman Catholic mission established by the Jesuits in 1632. At the time of its foundation San Ignacio Miní was part of the Spanish Empire in the region known as the Province of Paraguay. Its name "San Ignacio Miní" was meant to indicate its smaller size comparing to another larger mission of San Ignacio Guazo (great in the local Guarani Native American language). During its hey day in the 18th century San Ignacio Miní was inhabited by over 3000 residents including Spanish soldiers, priests, monks and large population of the local native who converted to Christianity. After the Suppression of the Society of Jesus (aka Jesuits) in 1767, the mission of San Ignacio Miní was abandoned. Local hostile tribes captured and burned down the mission in 1817 in a series of military campaigns against perceived intruders.
Origin and history of the mission
The original mission was
directed by the priests José Cataldino and Simón Maceta in the region
that the natives called Guayrá and the Spanish called La Pinería, in the
current state of (State of Paraná, Brazil), around 1610. In 1631, the
largest part of the reductions were besieged and destroyed by the
bandeirantes paulistas or mamelucos. Only those of San Ignacio and
Nuestra Señora de Loreto resisted the attacks, but in 1632 they decided
to move to the Paranaimá region, to the west. Despite the formation of
native militias organized and trained by the Jesuits with a military
vocation, the hostilities forced them to withdraw again to the east, to
their current location, where in 1696, after having had various
emplacements that were later abandoned, it was reestablished.
definitely. Then: 1)- Argentina Misiones the name of San Ignacio Miní
("the minor", in Guarani) to distinguish it from the previous San
Ignacio of the area, later called 2) - Paraguay San Ignacio Guazú ("the
major").. ..
Current situation
Currently, San Ignacio Miní is
the best preserved of the missions in Argentine territory. The plan of
the mission is common to most of those built by the Jesuits at the time:
the church, the Casa de los Padres, the cemetery, the houses and the
town hall are distributed around a central square. In the construction
of San Ignacio, the local stone, the red sandstone, was used in large
pieces. The size of the works has allowed that, despite years of
deterioration, most of the walls are still standing.
In 1984 the
Brazilian ruins of San Miguel de las Misiones, which had already been
declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, was extended to
include the missions of Nuestra Señora de Loreto, Santa María la Mayor,
Santa Ana and San Ignacio Miní. , becoming a single cross-border site.
Guarani Community of San Ignacio
Site where a community of
Guarani descendants remains, there you can see some of their authentic
handicrafts and visit herbal establishments and other crops, such as the
cultivation of káa-hée, stevia, or "sweet grass" (an alternative to
sugar and artificial sweeteners).
In the town there is also an
interpretation center, which provides information on the history and
culture of the missions, in addition to organizing educational shows.