Aproximaciones a los problemas de interpretación y conservación arqueológica arquitectónica en la Estancia Jesuítica de Jesús María, Córdoba, Argentina.

The Society of Jesus settled in Cordoba at the end of the sixteenth century; and during its education and conversion labor, which lasted almost two hundred years until the time of the expulsion of the order, it left uncountable traces of material evidence that show its work. To the urban buildings that still exist today – the location of the ancient Colegio Maximo, the Colegio Convictorio, the Noviciado and the church of San Ignacio, among others – we can add the rural buildings that provided the economic power to the different endeavours – the estates of Caroya, Jesus María, Santa Catalina, Alta Gracia and San Ignacio (disappeared today)-. Deeper studies on the Society of Jesus in Cordoba and the Jesuit Province of Paraguay began in the decade on 1940. In the year 2000, the conglomerate known as Manazana Jesuítica de Cordoba (Jesuit Block) and the estates were declared as World Heritage sites by UNESCO. This thesis will develop a virtual reconstruction of the Estate of Jesus Maria circa 1767 – the year of the Expulsion – using different documentary sources. Afterwards, and based on the results obtained, insights are provided regarding the development of the architectural concept of the Jesuit Estate related to its daily life. Lastly, current problems around the conservation and the architectural archeological interpretation of the Estate of Jesus Maria will be analyzed. Up to this date there is still a lot left to understand the scope of the Jesuit endeavor in Cordoba, not only for its accurate evaluation, but also to take the correct actions to preserve and interpret the heritage sites. In this sense, the estate of Jesus María is a leading case on the way to deepen the knowledge of our legacy.