Villa Devoto is a barrio (Hood) or district in the northern part of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, located in the area defined by Campana, San Martín avenue, Francisco Beiró avenue, Joaquín V. González, Baigorria, Lope de Vega Avenue and General Paz Avenue. Villa Devoto, a primarily middle to upscale neighborhood, is characterized by quiet tree-lined streets and is considered as "the garden from Buenos Aires". A lower-density residential subsection called “Devoto R”, populated by wealthy residents, also dots the area.

Villa Devoto is served by the Urquiza

Línea Urquiza (Buenos Aires)

The Urquiza Line is a suburban electric commuter line operated by the subway operator Metrovías, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It runs from the Federico Lacroze terminus in the barrio of Chacarita, to General Lemos terminus, Campo de Mayo in Greater Buenos Aires, a total journey time of 46 min...

 and San Martín

Línea San Martín (Buenos Aires)

The San Martín line is a 55 Kilometre,19 station commuter rail service in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina run by the private company Transportes Metropolitanos General San Martín S.A. , a subsidiary of Metropolitano, between 1 April 1994 and 7 January 2005...

 commuter railway lines.

History

The district was named after "The Count" Antonio Devoto

Antonio Devoto

Don Antonio Devoto was the owner of most of the lands in the current barrio of Buenos Aires called Villa Devoto. Don Devoto was a member of the elite of Buenos Aires...

, who was the owner of most of its lands. The Count Devoto was a member of the elite of Buenos Aires. In respect of his help to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 during the first world war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he was given the title of count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 by the king.

Don Devoto built what was the largest mansion at the time and it became known as Devoto Palace

Devoto Palace

In the 19th century, Don Antonio Devoto built in Buenos Aires what was the largest mansion at the time and it became known as the Devoto Palace —Prince Umberto Saboya stayed there during a visit to Buenos Aires. The mansion was built on National Avenue and occupied around 10,238 square metres...

 —Prince Umberto Saboya

Umberto I of Italy

Umberto I or Humbert I , nicknamed the Good , was the King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his death. He was deeply loathed in far-left circles, especially among anarchists, because of his conservatism and support of the Bava-Beccaris massacre in Milan...

 stayed there during a visit to Buenos Aires. The mansion was built on National Avenue and occupied around 10,238 square meters. The mansion was decorated in bronze, silver and gold with iron work forged in Italy, and Florentine

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 mosaics.

Don Devoto died in 1916 before the work on the mansion was complete. He did not leave any descendants, and no one could be found to buy the eccentric house; in 1938 it was divided into building lots on which houses were later constructed.

Sports

Villa Devoto is home to the General Lamadrid

Club Atlético General Lamadrid

Club Atlético General Lamadrid is a sports club located in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires, Argentina...

 soccer club.

Notable inhabitants

• Diego Armando Maradona Sergio Batista, Roberto Pompei, Jose Basualdo, Jose "Chango" Cardenas, Amadeo Carrizo, ex soccer players.

Gabriela Sabatini (Tennis World Champion) Mario Pergolini (TV Producer) Jose Maria Listorti (Actor)

External links

• Devoto Info (Spanish)
• Devoto News (Spanish)
• Devoto Barrio (Spanish)
• Devoto Hoy Portal (Spanish)
• Info on Devoto (Spanish)