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The Casa Rosada Highlights
BALCARCE 50 AND ROOFED PATIOS
The Great Arch entrance and the roofed patios which are located at Balcarce 50 are the assembly point of buildings constructed at different times for different purposes and designed by different architects. Up till the end of the 19 century there was an internal passage which lead up to the new Customs House.
GUARD OF HONOUR
The Balcarce 50 entrance, which is the main entrance facing Plaza de Mayo, is guarded by a Guard of Honour, the Granaderos or Grenadiers. Every year the President of the Nation presides the ceremony in which the guards of the Pink House are symbolically relieved. At the command of the First Triumvirate, General San Martin created the Granaderos a Caballo (Mounted Grenadiers) Regiment. In 1907 this Regiment was formally appointed the official Presidential Guard, during Dr. José Figueroa Alcorta's Presidency.
PATIO OF HONOUR
At the end of the 19th century the House that had originally been the residence of the Governors and Viceroys of Buenos Aires was still standing. Later it would become the office of the first Presidents. The new building would give rise to this patio which can be accessed from Balcarce 24, and is the core around which the rooms and offices of the north wing of the Pink House are distributed.It is also known as "The Palm Tree Patio" and follows the eclectic style of the rest of the building. In the centre there is an artistic French iron fountain surrounded by flowerbeds contained by a low Carrara marble wall.
HALL OF HONOUR
The main entrance to the Palace is on Avenida Rivadavia. This is the entrance the President of the Nation uses, as well as high Ilustración ranking officials of the national government, ambassadors and official guests. At the side of the entrance door to the Great Vestibule, called the "Hall of Honour", two Art Deco bas-reliefs can be seen, both work of the artist José Fioravanti, emblems representing "Exalting the Young Nation" and "The Heroic Feeling of the Race". The original decoration on the walls and the coffered celing of the Hall of Honour, were done towards the end of the 19th century with Italian style fillet-adorned motifs. Around 1913 these decorative paintings were covered with a layer of light paint that was removed from the ceilings after 1980 when they were restored allowing the artistic paintings to be fully appreciated.
To the north of the Great Vestibule is the Terrace onto Rivadavia Street, to the south is the Patio of Honour, or Palm Tree Patio; to the east is the Minister of Home Affairs' office and to the west the Secretary General's offices.
GALLERY OF BUSTOS
It is located at the side of the Hall of Honour and in it are the Busts of the Presidents of Argentina, sculptured by famous national and foreign artists. President Julio A. Roca commissioned Lucio Correa Morales the task of sculpturing the busts of the first three presidents (1883 - 1884) thus initiating the tradition of placing in the Pink House the presidential busts once their term has come to an end. Originally they were placed in the Presidential Rooms on the first floor, but in 1973 President General Lanusse ordered them to be moved to the Hall of Honour and Decree 4022 was passed establishing that Presidential Busts must be placed in the hall once an interval of no less than two presidential terms has transpired after the presidential term in question has finalized.
STAIRS OF HONOUR - FRANCE
This is the one used as the main access to the Reception Rooms and Presidential Apartments, located on the main floor of the Palace, the first floor. On the landing there is a major tapestry woven at the Gobelin Factory, Paris, France, based on the drawing of the artist Alfredo Roll dated 1911. It depicts General San Martin mounting a frisky steed, dressed in military uniform and guided by two winged glories. The side frieze shows specimens of Argentine flora and fauna. At the foot there is an inscription indicating that it is an official gift from the Republic of France to the Republic of Argentina.
The wall and ceiling of the room exhibit the original paintings, in this case the ornamental motifs are "trompe l'oeil" moulds with Renaissance motifs. The bronze light fittings are French and were installed at the end of the 19th century when electricity took the place of gas lighting at the Pink House.
STAIRS OF HONOUR - ITALY
It faces the west and on its landing is the marble and bronze plaque the Reign of Italy handed Dr. Roque Saenz Peña, during his diplomatic Ilustración mission in Europe, as a gift on the occasion of our first Centenary;it symbolizes fraternity among these two countries.
The ceilings exhibit original fillet paintings. On the Victorian round table there is a small copy of one of the two horses that in the 18th century adorned the entrance to Marly Le Roi castle, property of Louis XIV and which is currently in the new wing of the Louvre Museum, Paris.
This staircase leads to the main office of the Military House, that had previously been the President's office from Miguel Juarez Celman's presidency through Victorino de la Plaza's presidency.
THE MILITARY HOUSE
The office of the Head of the Military House is accessed by the Italian staircase and is on the left of the landing. In the antechamber, between this office and the entrance to the White Room, there is a large porcelain vase made at the Sévres Factory, completely decorated and turned by hand, a gift to our country from the government of France during Manuel Quintana's presidency.
THE SOUTH ROOM
This room is between the two stairs of Honour and on one side leads to the Stained Glass Window Gallery and on the other to the White Room. This room is used for informal meetings, press conferences, dinner parties and less important ceremonies.
THE NORTH ROOM
Also called the Room of Agreements, it was used for Cabinet meetings until 1968. In it is the Victorian style Agreement Table, made in 1949. It is surrounded by chairs with velvet tufted seats, also Victorian style. The President of the Nation's chair has the National Coat of Arms carved at the top of its back.
THE WHITE ROOM
The most important government functions take place in this room, the most outstanding being the ceremony in which the President receives the Presidential Sash and Baton, symbols of his authority. The ceremonies in which Ministers and Secretaries of State are sworn in also take place in this room, as well as the ceremonies in which new foreign Ambassadors present their Credentials. These rooms are also used for receptions for special guests, for signing international treaties, Presidential speeches addressed to the Nation on outstanding matters and occasionally for the wake of very important people. The back stope of the Room is richly decorated with a fireplace on which stands a traditional sculpture representing a bust of the Fatherland, made of marble, by the Italian artist Ettore Ximenes. Above the Bust is the National Coat of Arms made of bronze mounted on a marble plaque capped by two angels made of shiny wood, holding trumpets of glory. This decorative ensemble was bought at the Forest Firm in Paris the year of the Centenary.
In the right corner there is a bust of General San Martin, of the Philippine artist Félix Pardo de Tavera. Since the 4th August 1993, in the left corner stands the bust of General Manuel Belgrano, by the Argentine artist Juan Carlos Ferraro.
The ceiling of the Room is decorated with a painting by the Italian artist,Luis de Servi, painted in 1910 as a tribute to the Centenary of the May Revolution and to our Independence, with callegories regarding our main patriotic festivities, the 25th May and the 9th July.
In the centre of the Room hangs the impressive gilt bronze chandelier, made in France and assembled in Buenos Aires when installed by the firm Azaretto Hnos. The doors of this Room were, originally made of ground glass with an engraving of the National Coat of Arms. These have been replaced by crystal mirrors.
The wall cornice was first leaf gilded on the occasion of the visit of the president of Brazil, Manuel F. de Campos Salles, in 1900.
The original floor of the Room was English sandstone up till 1903 when it
was replaced by the current parquet wood floor made of Slovene oak.
THE CHAPEL OF CHRIST THE KING
It was built in 1978, in the antechamber between the President's Office and the White Room.
It is presided by a wood sculpture representing Christ the King, by the Argentine sculptor Vigil Mahlknecht.
In 1984 an image of Our Lady of Lujan was placed here and under it is a stone brought from the Malvinas Islands during the war against England.
When in 1982, Pope John Paul II visited our Government House, he left as testimony of his visit the skullcap which is at the foot of the altar.
Usually, once a week, the chaplain of Government House holds a service here.
THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
This room was previously the President's dining room and it began to be used as an office after 1946. When the President is in Government House, two Grenadiers guard the entrance.
THE PRESIDENT'S LIFT 
In the antechamber leading to those rooms is the President's lift. According to Government House tradition, it was a gift that the Infanta Isabel de Borbón made to the Government House when she visited our country in 1910.
It is made of carved oak with marquetry exhibiting our National Coat of Arms on each of the crystal mirrors.