Abstract

FLORES, Fabián Claudio. Luján as Hierapolis: from spatial legend to religious place. Rev. Univ. geogr. [online]. 2012, vol.21, n.1, pp. 137-158. ISSN 1852-4265.

The city of Luján in the west of the province of Buenos Aires is the main religious center of Argentina. Located about 70 km from the city of Buenos Aires, Luján hosts yearly millions of visitors motivated by the hierophantic center represented by the National Basilica of Our Lady of Luján. The main scenario where these geographical processes take place is formed by the basilica axis - Plaza Belgrano, opposite the church. From a cultural perspective of territory analysis, this paper aims at exploring the creation process of the religious space that led to the invention of the city as a Hierapolis. Based on the ways in which the religious dimension of the territory was conceived from the miracle of the cart and its subsequent interpretations, the study goes further on the spatial representations and spaces of representation along the centuries and on their result which forms the current religious setting. Finally, we analyze the geo-symbols emerged as icons in the territorial memory that constantly refers to the hegemonic version of the spatial story.

Keywords : Religious scene; Luján; Geo-symbols; Heritage; Urban space.