Manzana de la Rivera

The Manzana de la Rivera is an antique city block transformed into a museum-library-theater-cafe complex, and has become a cultural symbol of Paraguay.

Located at Juan de Ayolas 129, Asunción Paraguay, the architectonic complex is a group of nine restored houses as well as some new construction. It is located in front of the Government House. Its name comes from an old nearby street name, the Calle de la Rivera.

After the change of government in 1989, people wanted to restore a few places in town. In this context, a group of architecture students started the campaign Salvemos la Manzana frente al palacio which means let’s save the city block in front of the government house, opposing a project that intended to demolish it to build a park in its place. The restoration works started in 1991. Its first director was the architect Carlos Colombino.

Viola House

The Viola House is a typical colonial construction dated from 1750-1758. Its location relates to the layout of the streets before Doctor Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia squared the city. The house has a tile roof. There is a gallery in front; behind the gallery there is a blacksmith’s shop built over wooden beams and columns. Previously, the house had three big rooms, now there’s only one, located in front . In the back part there is a passing gallery, as a sample of the culata yovai, a type of antique Paraguayan house. The roof of the gallery is made of palm and tacuara; the tiles are set with a mud kind of cement.

Nowadays it houses the Museo Memoria de la Ciudad, a museum in commemoration of the city, and exhibits texts, maps, objects, paints, graphics, as well as other elements that tell the history of Asunción, since its foundation until modern times.

Clari House

Located next to the “Viola House”, this house is a simple construction with an interior gallery with rooms next to each other. Built by the architect Clari at the beginnings of the 20th century with a late Art Nouveau style. The house is now used as the Café Bar Casa Clari. The newly built Miguel Acevedo addition is used as an art gallery

Clari-Mestre House

This building, adjoining with “Casa Clari” was built in 1912 in a neoclassical style. When it was restored, it had a zinc roof, which was supposedly placed after its initial construction. The ceiling was made of cardboard, with relief and no colors. Due to the bad condition of the ceiling and roof, it was decided to put a tile roof on the house.

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Wikipedia