We are told by historians that this neighbourhood barrio owes its name to one of the first owners of this area: the Sicilian Juan Domnguez Palermo, a rich entrepreneur, married to the daughter of a Conquistador, who acquired it somewhere around the year 1590.

Since those days, this area has been named the Palermo fields. And in these low lying and swampy fields, which were prone to flooding when the river rose, he had vineyards and grew other fruit, as well as wheat.

In the beginning of the XIX century, the land was bought by Juan Manuel de Rosas, which added them to other terrains to set up a farm comprising 541 hectares (close to 1190 acres).

In the corner that today is formed by the Libertador and Sarmiento Avs, Rosas built a grand house in the colonial style with a balcony enclosing its perimeter, improved the roads and filled in the low parts with earth brought from the Belgrano riverbanks. He also built a small chapel, inside the southern tower, called San Benito de Palermo, a black saint, to gain the devotion of the black people who worked for him.

The Palermo of today is the area more closely implicated with the 3 de Febrero Park or the Palermo Woods - the Bosques de Palermo, as it is commonly known. A beautiful place built in the midst of the attractive greenery and most important relaxation area of the City. The broad sidewalks of the elegant Avenida del Libertador, the Japanese Garden, the Rose garden, the golf links and the lake, are some of the attractions encountered by people who wander around.

This neighbourhood can be divided into three areas: Old Palermo - "Palermo Viejo", Small Palermo - "Palermo Chico" and the Palermo Gardens - "Jardines de Palermo". However, considering its architectural styles, two of these areas stand out:

PALERMO CHICO
It is but a part of this large neighbourhood, characterised by a layout that combines buildings and the park. It was designed by architect Carlos Thays.

As a counterproposal to the Spanish traditional urban checkerboard that flourished in this part of the continent, he proposed rounded and irregularly laid out streets, with many ample and large green areas and superb mansions, that today harbour foreign embassies and entities. At the further end of it you will find the Jos Hernndez Museum of Argentinean Motives.

With the Avenida del Libertador as its main artery, this neighbourhood is the most tree-shaded part of the City and one of the largest as to area. Its woods and flowering gardens make up the biggest and greenest lung area of Buenos Aires.

Here you can enjoy the soothing peace of magnolias, jacarandas, lapachos, pines, araucarias and several species of palm trees. There is no other place as suitable for a Sunday walk. Around its lakes you can find many people practising sports, stroll, roller-skate, ride bicycles or just sit and sun bathing.

Early every morning or at dusk during the week, it is usual to find many people jogging or just walking in the area, each one making his (or her) own personal circuit around the Galileo Planetarium, the Japanese Garden, or across the Avenida del Libertador by the Monument to the Spaniards on their way towards the Zoological Garden or else the Botanical Garden.

Here you will also encounter the main exhibit or trade fairs of the City: the Palermo Trade Fair Grounds and the Municipal Exhibition Centre.

THE PALERMO GARDENS.
Here you will walk by the imposing statue of Sarmiento, created by the sculptor Auguste Rodn in 1900, the famous Rose Garden with its lake, the Andaluz Courtyard, a gift from Seville to Buenos Aires, the huge Monument to the Spaniards, and the Galileo Galilee Planetarium are but a few samples of what this barrio can offer the visitor.

On del Libertador General San Martn Av and Dorrego St you will find the Argentinean Horse Racing Course - Hipdromo Argentino, a true testimony of the Belle poque style, where horse racing and social events takes place.

If you cross the broad Libertador Av, you will access the Argentinean Horse Polo Fields - Campo Argentino de Polo, where in November every year the Open National Championship -Campeonato Abierto de la Repblica is convoqued. An area running parallel to the Del Libertador Av, between the Dorrego and Olleros St approximately was totally renewed to convert it into residential and night entertainment area baptized as San Benito de Palermo (The name of the local parish) but better known as "Las Caitas".

Across the railroad tracks you will get to The King Fahd Islamic Cultural Centre - Centro Cultural Islmico Rey Fahd, with an area of three hectares (Approximately 7 acres). It was inaugurated in September of 2000. It has a school, exhibit and conference halls, a library and a mosque that can hold up to 1600 believers.

Palermo Chicotogether with the Jardines de Palermo, which run eastward from the Plaza Italia, make up one of the jewels of the City of Buenos Aires and a visit there will leave you astonished.