The House of Ernesto Sábato

Ernesto Sábato, probably best known for his short novel “El Túnel,” was the second Argentine writer to win the Premio Miguel de Cervantes in 1984. 

Close to the train station, far from the city—in a place called Santos Lugares—the house Sábato worked served as a retreat where he wrote most of his work and devoted himself to his other passion, painting.

Built by film director and pioneer, Federico Valle in 1927 as a film study, the glass panel room served as the writing study for Sábato for many years. A few years before the family acquired the house, another famous writer occupied it, Jorge Amado who was a famous Brazilian writer, exiled at the time.

His personal library is on display in the greenhouse and there’s film footage—produced by his son, Mario Sábato—of the family’s everyday life. The house was the meeting point of great artists and politicians: Antonio Berni and Leopoldo Marechal, among others.

Today, Sábato’s old haunt is open to the public and offers guided tours, allowing for aspiring writers and bookworms to retrace the footsteps of their favorite authors.