San Ignacio Mini

San Ignacio Mini was one of many missions founded by the Jesuits in 1610 in Argentina, in what colonial Spaniards called the Province of Paraguay of the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. It is located near the present-day San Ignacio valley, about 60 kilometers north of Posadas in Argentina's Misiones Province. It was one of four reductions in Argentina designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1984.

The mission had a population of around 3000 people in the 18th century, mostly indigenous peoples. They created a plethora of cultural and handicraft products, which the Spanish commercialized through trade along the nearby Paraná River. The Jesuits left the mission a year after the Society of Jesus was suppressed in 1767. In the war against the Banda Oriental independence movement, Luso-Brazilian forces destroyed the mission, as well as other missions in the area, in 1817.

The ruins are among the best-preserved of those built on the territory of the Province of Paraguay, which is now shared by Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It is one of the most visited due to its accessibility. It gained popularity following poet Leopoldo Lugones' 1903 expedition to the site. Until 1940, the government did not conduct formal exploration and restoration.

The church, a cabildo, a cemetery, a monastery, and some houses originally surrounded the main square. The magnificent 74-meter-long and 24-meter-wide church was designed by Italian priest Juan Brasanelli and built with local red sandstone. The walls are about 2 meters wide, which, despite the fragile material, has allowed the structures to stand for over two centuries.

Location: San Ignacio, Misiones Province, Argentina