Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar

This guide to the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Buenos Aires follows Giovanni Andrea Bianchi, an Italian architect who stepped off a boat in 1717 with a new name, Brother Andrés Blanqui, and a vow to leave design behind. In a city with no architecture school and barely a stone building to its name, you'll hear how this lay friar ended up shaping much of colonial Buenos Aires, from the cathedral to the seat of colonial government, before raising a church on a patch of land the Recollect friars called Pilar. The guide traces the plain, whitewashed façade he chose, and what changes once you step through the door.