Samay Huasi facts for kids
Samay Huasi is a special place in Argentina. Its name comes from the Quechua language, where Samay Wasi means "rest house." It's a historic property that works as both a peaceful vacation spot and an interesting museum.
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What is Samay Huasi?
Samay Huasi is located in a town called Chilecito. This town is high up in the Pampas Sierras mountains in La Rioja Province.
The First Owner: William Treloar
The property first belonged to William Treloar. He was a British mining engineer, which means he was an expert in finding and digging up valuable minerals from the ground. Mr. Treloar bought Samay Huasi in the late 1800s as a place to relax after he retired.
He knew Dr. Joaquín V. González, who was a very important lawyer for mining laws in Argentina. Dr. González had also been the Governor of La Rioja from 1889 to 1891. When Mr. Treloar passed away in 1913, he left his beautiful property, which was then called La Carrera, to his friend Dr. González. The property was quite large, about 17 hectares (or 42 acres).
Dr. González's Home
When Dr. González inherited the property, he kept the vineyards (where grapes grow) and orchards (where fruit trees grow). He made the living areas bigger and turned the old horse stables into ten bedrooms for his sons. He also gave the property its new name, Samay Huasi.
Dr. González was the president of the University of La Plata from 1905 to 1913. He decided to leave Samay Huasi to the university after he was gone. He passed away in 1923.
Samay Huasi as a Museum and Retreat
The University of La Plata officially took over Samay Huasi in 1941. At first, they used it as a "Rest House for Artists and Writers" (Casa de Descanso para Artistas y Escritores). It was a place where creative people could go for a vacation. Later, it became a retreat mainly for university staff.
The Mis Montañas Museum
In 1960, a part of Samay Huasi was turned into a museum. This museum shows off many things that belonged to Dr. González. You can see his collections of anthropological (related to human culture and history) and geological (related to rocks and the Earth) materials. The museum also displays many of his writings, as he published over 50 books and 1,000 articles!
The museum is called Mis Montañas, which means "My Mountains." This name honors a book Dr. González wrote in 1903. In his book, he described the nearby Talampaya area and other amazing landscapes in the Andes mountains.
The Antonio Alice Art Gallery
Samay Huasi also has an art gallery called the Antonio Alice Pinacotheca. A pinacotheca is just another word for an art gallery, especially one that displays paintings.
This gallery is named after Antonio Alice, an Argentine painter. He was famous for painting portraits (pictures of people) and historical paintings (pictures that show important events from the past). Antonio Alice even painted a portrait of Dr. González in 1917. The gallery features art from many different Argentine painters.
See also
In Spanish: Samay Huasi para niños
