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It is a synonim of natural and cultural richness. Its multiple landscapes, historical sites, culture and economic activity make it different from the rest of the provinces. Rosario, one of the most important cities in the country is located there.
Santa Fe province is located in the center of the country and borders to the east with Entre Ríos and Corrientes provinces, to the West with Santiago del Estero and Córdoba, to the south with Buenos Aires and to the north with Chaco. It has a surface of 133,007 km², and is divided in 19 departments, and the population is over 3,200,000 inhabitants. The Capital City is Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, situated 475 km. from Buenos Aires.
History of the province
On the 15th of November, 1573, the Spanish conqueror Juan de Garay founded the city of Santa Fe next to the river Quiloazas –today river San Javier-, with the intention of building a strategic scale between River de la Plata, , Asunción del Paraguay and Perú. In 1651, the relocation of the city to its current location started, and it finished in 1661. The constant inundations and the attacks of aboriginal tribes were the causes of the moving of the city, which from that moment was called Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz.
In 1720, the building of the Capilla del Rosario started, and the city built there was named after this chapel. In 1813, this land was the place where the decisive battle of San Lorenzo happened, when the General José de San Martín and his soldiers defeated the realistas. Six years later, Santa Fe enacted the first Provincial Constitution. In 1852 the city of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz was declared seat of the National Constituent Assembly, which on the 1st May, 1853, established the constitution of the Argentine Nation. Eventually, in 1994, the city was also seat to the Constituent Assembly which determined the last reform of the National Constitution.
Economy
Agriculture and livestock farming are the most productive activities in the province, and they generate great benefits not only to the regional economy but also to the nation. The countryside has a great production of cattle and oily crops- soya, corn, sunflower – and wheat, sorghum, cotton, strawberry and potato. Arroyo Seco, Venado Tuerto, Reconquista, Rafaela, Cañada de Gómez and Coronda are some of the towns dedicated to these activities.
Santa Fe also has an intense industrial activity, which makes it one of the main productive and technological poles in Argentina. In Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, and in Las Parejas and the surroundings of Rosario, many industrial places can be found, which are dedicated to the production of food, metal-mechanical production, petrochemistry, textile, plastics, and machinery production. Besides, Rosario has a large historic port, which is the motor of commercial and financial activity.
Other important industrial poles in the province are Rafaela and Venado Tuerto. Nowadays, both cities are characterized by economic prosperity, concentrating a great number of industrial food producing places. Its main industries are oil, flour, and milk. They also have many metal-mechanic industries, dedicated mainly to manufacture farming machines.
