Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital as well as the largest city in terms of area situated in the country of Argentina. Buenos Aires city lies in the province of the same name on the southern part of the shore of Rio de la Plata within the continent of South America. Surprisingly it is not the provincial capital and is not even considered a part of it. The city with a population of approximately 13 million is called Great Buenos Aires and ranks on number three amongst the conurbations of Latin America. The city came into being in the early 16th century and the first settlement established on the lands of the present day Buenos Aires was in the year 1536 on the 2nd of February and was called then as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre which is translated in English as City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds. It was founded by Pedro de Mendoza in the present day district of San Telmo, Buenos Aires. The inhabitation was removed after several attacks and the next area inhabited was a permanent settlement. It was the discovery of Juan de Garay. The city was part of the province of Buenos Aires but after being subjected to many conflicts was separated from the province as a federation. The present day Buenos Aires comprises not only of the main city but also of the town of Belgrano and town of Flores. The name of Buenos Aires means Good Air in English and the city is under the influence of European culture till date. The city was named after Virgine de Bonaria’s sanctuary which is situated in Cagliari as she is known as Our lady of Fair Winds. The city of Buenos Aires spans an area of about 203 km² or 78.5 sq miles of which about 4,758 km² is included in the Metropolitan area.