Criteria iv Extensions 1984 UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription 1983 | Type Cultural Reference 275-291 Extension 1984 | |
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UNESCO region Latin America and the Caribbean Similar Nuestra Señora de Loreto, San Ignacio Miní, Jesuit Missions of the Guara, Jesuit Block and Estancias, Cueva de las Manos | ||
Reducción de Santa María la Mayor (Reduction of Holy Maria Major), located in the Santa María Department of the Misiones Province, Argentina, at approximate coordinates 27°33′S 55°20′W, was one of the missions or reductions founded in the 17th century by the Jesuits in the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. In 1984 it was one of four reduction sites in Argentina designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
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Jesuit Reductions
The Jesuit reduction of Santa María la Mayor was founded in 1626, and by 1744 it held a population of 993. It was abandoned after the Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish colonies in 1767 after suppression of the order by the Spanish and Portuguese governments.
World Heritage Site
In 1984 the ruins of the reduction were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, together with three other reductions in the area of Argentina and one in Brazil, all formerly part of the Province of Paraguay during the colonial era. The ruins have been grown over by vegetation. They are not as well preserved as those of San Ignacio Miní, also in Misiones.