Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910)

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The Exposición International del Centenario was an exposition held between May and November of 1910 in Buenos Aires, to mark the centennial of the May Revolution in Argentina (the formation of the first local government on May 25, 1810). With a population of around 1.2 million, Buenos Aires was then the largest urban complex in Latin America, the eighth city in the world, and one of the richest. As the capital city and main port of the young Argentine Republic at the height of its economic expansion, the city was growing rapidly with the successive waves of European immigration.

There were pavilions for Agriculture and Cattle Raising, Industry, Railways and Overland Transport, Hygiene and Fine Arts. In addition there were pavilions for several of the Argentine provinces, including Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán, and for countries including Spain, Italy, Germany, England, Switzerland, Austro-Hungarian Empire and Paraguay. The Art Nouveau style played an important role in the designs of many of the buildings.

The pavilion for the exhibition of fine arts, designed by the French architect Albert Ballu and situated in Plaza San Martín, was moved from Paris, were it had been the Argentine pavilion in the 1889 Paris exhibition, erected right next to the newly-built Eiffel Tower.

A number of young Italian architects, including Virginio Colombo, Francisco Gianotti and Mario Palanti who designed the Italian pavilion, went on to establish successful careers in Buenos Aires working in a number of styles, including Art Nouveau. Their buildings were some of the most important of the 20th century in Buenos Aires and those that remain continue to play a significant role in defining the city's architectural landscape.