Colonia Caroya Cattle Ranch (1618)

EIt is the first rural settlement set up by the Compañía in 1616. It was sold in 1661 to the priest Ignacio Duarte Quirós, founder of the Colegio Convictorio de Monserrat, who donated it to give financial support to that school, and to serve as a vacation residence for its boarders. Between 1814 and 1816 its facilities were used to manufacture weapons for the Ejército del Norte (Army of the North) during the battles that took place for national independence.

In 1854, it became property of the national government, and in 1876, the President Avellaneda stated the establishment of colony of immigrants coming from the Friuli region (Italy).

The immigrants settled in the estancia in 1878 until the new town was definitely established in its vicinity. At present, the estancia is a National and Provincial Historic Monument.

The Estancia de Caroya includes the residence set up around the wide central cloister, the chapel, perchel, tajamar, the remains of the mill, the irrigation channels, the fruit and vegetable gardens.

The residence is an outstanding example of the architectural style of the rural region, because it is basically a residence erected around a big courtyard and its cloister.

The residence also includes the little stone chapel and rooms for the students of the Colegio Convictorio de Monserrat. The residence building shows architectural features characteristic of the XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries, showing the influence of the different stages of intervention, and the residence's functions.

The residence was built with local materials, such as stone, adobe, brick, carob tree to manufacture beams, doors and windows, hand-made Spanish tales and wrought-iron bars designed in the estancia.