Editing Montevideo (section)

==== Museums ====
{{main|List of museums in Montevideo}}
[[File:Cabildo de Montevideo.jpg|thumb|left|Fountain in the entry of the Cabildo]]

The Centro Cultural de España, as well as [[Asturias|Asturian]] and cultural centers, testify to Montevideo's considerable Spanish heritage. Montevideo also has important museums including [[Museo Torres García]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museo Torres García |url=http://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/ |access-date=16 November 2010 |publisher=torresgarcia.org.uy |language=es |archive-date=19 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619040517/http://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> {{interlanguage link|Museo José Gurvich|es|Museo Gurvich}}, [[Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales]] and [[Juan Manuel Blanes Museum|Museo Juan Manuel Blanes]] etc.

The [[Montevideo Cabildo]] was the [[seat of government]] during the colonial times of the [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]]. It is located in front of [[Constitution Square (Montevideo)|Constitution Square]], in Ciudad Vieja.<ref name=travel/> Built between 1804 and 1869 in Neoclassical style, with a series of [[Doric columns|Doric]] and [[Ionic columns|Ionic]] columns, it became a National Heritage Site in 1975. In 1958, the Municipal Historic Museum and Archive was inaugurated here. It features three permanent [[city museum]] exhibitions, as well as temporary art exhibitions, cultural events, seminars, symposiums and forums.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 January 2011 |title=Museo y Archivo Histórico Municipal – Cabildo &#124; Intendencia de Montevideo |url=http://www.montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-y-archivo-historico-municipal-cabildo |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014115245/http://montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-y-archivo-historico-municipal-cabildo |archive-date=14 October 2011 |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Montevideo.gub.uy}}</ref>

[[File:Palacio Taranco meeting.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Uruguayan officials conversing at a meeting at the Palacio Taranco, 6 November 2010]]
The [[Palacio Taranco]] is located in front of the [[Plaza Zabala]], in the heart of Ciudad Vieja. It was erected in the early 20th century as the residence of the Ortiz Taranco brothers on the ruins of Montevideo's first theater (of 1793), during a period in which the architectural style was influenced by French architecture. The palace was designed by French architects [[Charles Louis Girault]] and {{interlanguage link|Jules-Léon Chifflot|fr}} who also designed the [[Petit Palais]] and the [[Arc de Triomphe]] in Paris. It passed to the city from the heirs of the Tarancos in 1943, along with its precious collection of Uruguayan furniture and draperies and was deemed by the city as an ideal place for a museum; in 1972 it became the Museum of Decorative Arts of Montevideo and in 1975 it became a National Heritage Site.<ref name="Frommers">{{Cite book |last1=Shawn Blore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmW-7wfC1TMC&q=montevideo+hotel&pg=PA688 |title=Frommer's South America |last2=Alexandra de Vries |last3=Eliot Greenspan |last4=Haas Mroue |last5=Michael Luongo |last6=Charlie O'Malley |last7=Kristina Schreck |last8=Neil E. Schlecht |publisher=[[Frommer's]], [[John Wiley and Sons]] |year=2003 |isbn=0-471-77897-4 |edition=3 |pages=686–92 |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005141506/https://books.google.com/books?id=kmW-7wfC1TMC&q=montevideo+hotel&pg=PA688 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 August 2008 |title=Uruguay Cultural » Museo de Artes Decorativas Palacio Taranco |url=http://www.portaluruguaycultural.gub.uy/2009/08/museo-de-artes-decorativas-palacio-taranco-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907034325/http://www.portaluruguaycultural.gub.uy/2009/08/museo-de-artes-decorativas-palacio-taranco-2/ |archive-date=7 September 2009 |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Portaluruguaycultural.gub.uy}}</ref> The Decorative Arts Museum has an important collection of European paintings and decorative arts, ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Roman art]] and Islamic [[ceramic art|ceramics]] of the 10th–18th century from the area of present-day Iran.<ref name=Arts/> The palace is often used as a meeting place by the Uruguayan government.

[[File:MuseoHistoricoNacionalMontevideo.jpg|thumb|left|Museo Historico Nacional de Montevideo]]
The National History Museum of Montevideo is located in the historical residence of General [[Fructuoso Rivera]]. It exhibits artifacts related to the history of Uruguay.<ref name=travel/> In a process begun in 1998, the National Museum of Natural History (1837) and the National Museum of Anthropology (1981), merged in 2001, becoming the National Museum of Natural History and Anthropology. In July 2009, the two institutions again became independent.<ref name="MuseosNacionales">{{Cite web |title=Museos Nacionales de Historia Natural y Antropología |url=http://www.mec.gub.uy/munhina/mnhna.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103073715/http://www.mec.gub.uy//munhina//mnhna.htm |archive-date=3 November 2010 |access-date=18 November 2010 |website=mec.gub.uy}}</ref> The Historical Museum has annexed eight historical houses in the city, five of which are located in the Ciudad Vieja. One of them, on the same block with the main building, is the historic residence of Antonio Montero, which houses the Museo Romantico.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bienvenidos al Museo Histórico Nacional – Ministerio de Educación y Cultura – Uruguay |url=http://www.mhn.gub.uy/ |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Mhn.gub.uy |archive-date=20 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920202341/http://www.mhn.gub.uy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Also nearby is the Museo Casa de José Garibaldi where [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] lived in the 1840s while participating in the [[Uruguayan Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Casa de José Garibaldi |url=https://app.mec.gub.uy/innovaportal/v/1178/8/mec/casa-de-jose-garibaldi |access-date=25 January 2022 |publisher=Mhn.gub.uy |archive-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126041345/https://app.mec.gub.uy/innovaportal/v/1178/8/mec/casa-de-jose-garibaldi |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Museo Torres Garcia.jpg|thumb|284x284px|Museo Torres García]]
The [[Museo Torres García]] is located in the Old Town, and exhibits [[Joaquín Torres García]]'s unusual portraits of historical icons and [[cubism|cubist]] paintings akin to those of [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]] and [[Georges Braque|Braque]].<ref name="about">{{Cite web |title=Montevideo, Uruguay |url=http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/urumontevideo/a/Montevideo.htm |access-date=16 November 2010 |publisher=About.com:Gosouthamerica |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226080645/https://www.tripsavvy.com/montevideo-visitors-guide-1637548 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The museum was established by Manolita Piña Torres, the widow of Torres Garcia, after his death in 1949. She also set up the García Torres Foundation, a private non-profit organization that organizes the paintings, drawings, original writings, archives, objects and furniture designed by the painter as well as the photographs, magazines and publications related to him.<ref name="Torres Garcia">{{Cite web |title=El Museo Torres García |url=http://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/uc_118_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006154451/http://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/uc_118_1.html |archive-date=6 October 2010 |access-date=17 November 2010 |publisher=Museo Torres García |language=es}}</ref>

[[File:Museo Naval Montevideo.JPG|thumb|left|[[Museo Naval de Montevideo]]]]
There are several other important art museums in Montevideo. The [[Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo]] (CdF) is a museum, archive, and gallery for historic and contemporary photography with twelve outdoor exhibition spaces in various Montevideo neighborhoods as well as four galleries in its downtown headquarters. The [[National Museum of Visual Arts (Uruguay)|National Museum of Visual Arts]] in Parque Rodó has Uruguay's largest collection of paintings.<ref name=Sights/><ref name=Arts/> The [[Juan Manuel Blanes Museum]] was founded in 1930, the 100th anniversary of the first [[Constitution of Uruguay]], significant with regard to the fact that [[Juan Manuel Blanes]] painted Uruguayan patriotic themes. In the back of the museum is a Japanese Garden with a pond where there are over a hundred [[carp]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-blanes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426044450/http://www.montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-blanes|url-status=dead|title=Juan Manuel Blanes Municipal Museum of Arts|archivedate=26 April 2011}}</ref> The Museo de Historia del Arte, located in the Palacio Municipal, features replicas of ancient monuments and exhibits a varied collection of artifacts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Rome and Native American cultures including local finds of the pre-Columbian period.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 December 2009 |title=Museo de Historia del Arte (MuHAr) &#124; Intendencia de Montevideo |url=http://www.montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-de-historia-del-arte-muhar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014081206/http://montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-de-historia-del-arte-muhar |archive-date=14 October 2011 |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Montevideo.gub.uy}}</ref> The Museo Municipal Precolombino y Colonial, in the Ciudad Vieja, has preserved collections of the archeological finds from excavations carried out by Uruguayan archeologist Antonio Taddei. These antiquaries are exhibits of pre-Columbian art of Latin America, painting and sculpture from the 17th and 18th century mostly from Mexico, [[Peru]] and Brazil.<ref name=Arts/> The Museo de Arte Contempo has small exhibits of modern Uruguayan painting and sculpture.<ref name=Sights/>

There are also other types of museums in the city. The Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda, located in the Centro, has distinctive displays of the historical culture of Uruguay's [[gaucho]]s, their horse gear, silver work and ''[[yerba mate|mate]]'' (tea), gourds, and ''bombillas'' (drinking straws) in odd designs.<ref name=Sights/> The Museo Naval, is located on the eastern waterfront in Buceo and offers exhibits depicting the maritime history of Uruguay.<ref name=Sights/> The Museo del Automóvil, belonging to the Automobile Club of Uruguay, has a rich collection of vintage cars which includes a 1910 [[Hupmobile]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.acu.com.uy/museo/ |access-date=12 March 2013 |publisher=Acu.com.uy |archive-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413000317/http://www.acu.com.uy/museo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Museo y Parque Fernando García in Carrasco, a transport and automobile museum, includes old horse carriages and some early automobiles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 April 2010 |title=Museo y Parque Fernando García &#124; Intendencia de Montevideo |trans-title=Fernando García Museum and Park {{!}} Montevideo City Hall |url=http://www.montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-y-parque-fernando-garcia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014022322/http://montevideo.gub.uy/ciudad/cultura/museos-y-salas/museo-y-parque-fernando-garcia |archive-date=14 October 2011 |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=Montevideo.gub.uy}}</ref> The Castillo Pittamiglio, with an unusual façade, highlights the eccentric legacy of Humberto Pittamiglio, local alchemist and architect.<ref name=Sights/>