Ruins of Santa María la Mayor (40 K)

Mission of Santa María la Mayor
Together with San Ignacio Miní, Santa María la Mayor is one of the most important Jesuit settlements in Argentina. Founded in 1636 by the Jesuit Diego de Boroa and Claudio Ruyer, the town was moved twice. As most missions in the region, it was destroyed by Portuguese forces in 1817.
A printing press was set up between 1722 and 1724. It published books of great value such as "Art of the Guarani Language" and "Vocabulary of the Guarani Language", by Father Antonio Ruiz of Montoya, and "Explanation of the Catechism", of the Cacique Nicolás Yapuguay. These works, together with the books printed in Loreto and in San Francisco Javier, between 1705 and 1727 constitute the first books published in Argentina.
The ruins surrounded by a fence together with the water channels can be visited.
Santa María has been included in the list of World Heritage in 1984.