Foundational Area Museum

The museum of the Foundational Area is found in the center of the Old City, which was destroyed by an earthquake on March 20, 1861.

It is an archeological museum set up on the site where the city was founded on March 2, 1561. The rests of the "Cabildo" (Town Council), the main administrative institution of the colonial government, can be observed in the main excavation. They include remains of the foundations, as well as walls and some clay tiles of the building. There are also rests of the Municipal Slaughterhouse and the Fruit and Greens Fair which were built over the Cabildo at a later stage.

You will also be able to observe an underground chamber protecting the ruins of the fountain built in 1810 for the water supply of the old city.

In the exhibition rooms, you can learn about the different phases of the Mendocinean territorial settling and the urban growth of the city.