Through the gardens of Villa Ocampo

Photos: Paula Alvarado.

I love those summer days where the warm sun shines,
the bird flies drunk with light and gurgles,
the fragrant flowers embalm everything and the grass is so green (…)
Victoria Ocampo (Source)

One of those summer days I spent touring the gardens of Villa Ocampo, the last residence of the writer and patron of culture Victoria Ocampo.

The house, which her father designed for his aunt as a summer resort and Victoria inherited, was a mandatory stop for dozens of characters from the national and international culture scene since the early '40s.

One cannot appreciate via some photographs of her house turned into a museum all that Victoria Ocampo was for literature and culture in Argentina. Nor can one know through words the psychological effort she must have done to lead the life she led at a time when women had far less freedom of movement, to call it some way.

But I hope the images encourage you to visit this place, and hear the story of the house and the woman one day to draw your own conclusions.

I recommend, if you consider going, arriving early. The house closes at 18 on Thursdays and Fridays and at 19 on the weekends, and, as the visit lasts an hour, if one goes after a lazy lunch there is not enough time to sit and read some books or volumes of the magazine Sur at the bookstore/library.

From the Beccar train station it's about ten minutes by bike, and the tree-lined streets that surround the place are perfect for these hot days.

More information on the place website.

Links:
VillaOcampo.org