Topped by twin towers and surrounded by elegant gardens, Justo José de Urquiza’s ostentatious pink palace is 33km west of Concepción. Set around an arched patio, with a walled garden out back, it was built partly to show up Urquiza’s archrival in Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and partly to show the power and wealth of Entre RÃos province. Local caudillo Urquiza was largely responsible for Rosas’ 1852 downfall and the eventual adoption of Argentina’s modern constitution.
Sometime allies such as Domingo Sarmiento and Bartolomé Mitre supped at Urquiza’s 8.5m dining-room table and slept in the palatial bedrooms. The bedroom in which Urquiza was murdered by a mob sent by Ricardo López Jordán is a permanent shrine, created by Urquiza’s wife.
Free guided tours in Spanish leave daily at 10am, 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. There’s a restaurant on-site and picturesque grounds for picnicking.
From Concepción, Servimas or other remise companies will take up to four people there and back, including a two-hour wait, for AR$550. Another option is a tour – Turismo Pioneros organizes guided visits. You could also jump off a Caseros-bound bus and walk 3km to the palace.
