Confitería El Molino


The Confitería del Molino is an Art Nouveau style coffeehouse located on the corner of Callao and Rivadavia Avenues, in front of the Argentine National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cayetano Brenna, a famous confectioner, commissioned Italian architect Francisco Gianotti in 1915 to design the building that would house a café on its ground floor. The café itself opened on July 9, 1916, and when completed in 1917 the building became one of the tallest in the city with a corner turret rising. Illuminated from the inside with electric lighting, the turret featured stained glass windows and decorative windmill sails. El Molino and Galería Güemes were two of Gianotti's greatest works and represent important examples of Art Nouveau style architecture in Buenos Aires.
Cayetano Brenna died in 1938 and Renato Varesse took over the business until 1950, when Antonio Armentano appeared, who in turn sold the goodwill in 1978. The new owners cause the bankruptcy of the confectionery, which happens to be acquired by Brenna's grandchildren, who introduce a series of improvements to adapt it to the new times.
Over the years El Molino became a favourite meeting place for local cultural, business, and political figures. The café was closed on February 23, 1997, however, and today is only rarely opened to the public for events designed to advertise the urgent need to restore the building, prior further disintegration.
The Confitería del Molino was declared a National Historic Monument in 1997. Congress approved its purchase by the Argentine Government in a bill passed unanimously on November 12, 2014. Plans include the restoration of the building and reopening of the namesake café, as well as the creation of a museum of early 20th century life in Buenos Aires. Officially, the building will be an annex of the Argentine Congress serving numerous functions, though the coffee shop itself is to be operated by the private sector.

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