The Jesuits were more than priests. In seventeenth-century Córdoba, in the heart of what is now Argentina, they ran a university, a network of missions and a string of estancias, ranches whose profits paid for their schools. Santa Catalina, founded in 1622 in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas, was the biggest of them, and the buildings you see today are a handsome cluster of church, cloister, workshops and quarters set around a quiet courtyard. The church, with a baroque front of whitewashed stone and a bell tower, was completed in the mid-eighteenth century, shortly before the Spanish crown expelled the order from its colonies in 1767.
After the expulsion the estate passed through other hands and survived as a working farm for generations, which is part of the reason it is so well kept. UNESCO lists it with the other Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba. The rooms are plain and thick-walled, with deep verandas, tiled floors and heavy wooden doors, and in the summer heat the shade in the courtyard is as good as any sermon. There is a small museum, and guided visits explain how the enslaved Africans who worked here fit into the picture, something older leaflets used to skip.
The road to it is a good one. From Jesús María, the nearest town of some size and home to another Jesuit estancia with a wine tradition, you climb into rolling pasture and rocky hills, with a quiet road that passes small farms, eucalyptus windbreaks and long views toward the sierra. The surface is mostly paved, though cracked in places, with gentle curves, and the traffic is light. Dust and gravel appear on the side roads, and sudden afternoon storms in summer, between November and March, can be violent. Autumn and spring are lovely and dry, with a clear light.
La Granja, closer in distance, is a small hill town, but for fuel and a proper meal Jesús María is the better stop, with several stations and traditional parrillas. Try a locro stew in cold months, or grilled meat with provoleta cheese. Entry to the estancia is by ticket, with limited hours, and midday is when the quiet is deepest. Bring water, since there are few services in between, and plan to reach the estancia in the morning, when the light on the white walls is best.