Bell Ville is a city located in the southeast of Córdoba. The city lies 200 kilometers southeast of the capital city of Córdoba Province, Argentina. Bell Ville is located where National Route 9 and National Route 3 intersect. The city also lies on the railway line connecting Córdoba, Rosario, and Buenos Aires. Bell Ville is the administrative center of Unión Department in southeastern Córdoba Province.
Throughout its history, Bell Ville has evolved from a ranch and village to a military fort, customs inspection and control point, and ultimately, a recognized town and city. Bell Ville is located in the Humid Pampas region, bordering the Tercero River. The city is served by the broad-gauge General Bartolomé Mitre Railway, connecting the cities of Córdoba, Rosario, and Buenos Aires. In addition, geographically speaking, the city is situated halfway between the two metropolitan areas along Route 9. It is 200 kilometers southeast of Córdoba and 200 kilometers northwest of Rosario.
Economically speaking, the region is primarily based on agriculture and cattle farming. The region also processes the crops produced here into other usable products. However, the region has a unique industry dedicated to the manufacturing of footballs, earning it the nickname “National Capital of the Football.”
Population As of the 2022 National Census by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), the population of Bell Ville is 37,995 residents. This represents a 10.3% rise from the 34,439 residents it had as of the 2010 National Census.
Demography According to the 1779 census, the population of Fraile Muerto (now Bell Ville) was 1,682 inhabitants, with an average of 8.4 individuals per family. The population composition was predominantly Spaniards (57%), followed by Mulattos (25%), Mestizos (7%), Indigenous people (6%), and Blacks (5%). There was a significant exodus in 1734 towards Pago de Areco and the province of Buenos Aires, resulting in a sparse population between 1734 and 1745. By 1744, records from the countryside census of Buenos Aires Province indicated 150 families from Córdoba, suggesting that the population of Fraile Muerto in 1720 was at least 1,200 inhabitants.
Population growth remained steady until 1815 when raids intensified, causing a decrease as people moved towards Río Cuarto and the Cuyo provinces. From 1866, English, Scottish, and Irish immigrants arrived due to the proximity of the railway's construction, the quality and affordability of the land. The end of the war with Paraguay in 1868 was beneficial as returning troops helped control raids more effectively, leading to a progressive increase in population.
Massive immigration of Italians and Spaniards occurred from around 1880 through the railway. Since 1991, and notably after the closure of a major meatpacking plant in 1998, the city has experienced a marked slowdown in population growth. History The first Europeans to set foot in the area where Bell Ville now stands were ten survivors of Sebastián Gaboto's expedition in the spring of 1529, under the command of Francisco César. They encountered the main settlement of the Litines, a subgroup of the Het people, named after their chief Litín. After staying for several days, the explorers continued their journey through dense forests along the riverbanks, rich with Prosopis trees, chañares, tasis (Araujia sericifera), molles and mistoles.
According to engineer Agustín Villarroel in his book, in 1584-1585, a friar died at the location where Bell Ville would later be established. The friar's name and religious order remain undisclosed, leading to the area being known as Fraile Muerto (Dead Friar).
In addition, in 1585, an expedition led by General Alonso de la Cámara, accompanied by Juan de Mitre, departed from Córdoba to establish the shortest route between Córdoba and Buenos Aires. They marked the route every four leagues for mule trains, carts, and messengers. At Fraile Muerto, a marker was placed to signify the river crossing known as "El paso grande" (The big pass), where the banks were cleared for easier transit. The origin of the current city of Bell Ville dates back to 1650 when Lorenzo de Lara y Mimenza (sergeant major of the Royal Colonial Armies, Spanish of Chilean origin) was assigned by royal grant a field of 8 square leagues (21,598 hectares) and there together with his wife, Marcela de Mendoza, they founded the Estancia de la Limpia Concepción de Fraile Muerto. In the first thirty years of the 19th century the zone was a battlefield between the Creoles and the ranqueles, as well as field of combat between "federal" and "unitary", happening in 1818 in the surrounding areas the fratricidal combat between the troops supervised by Juan Bautista Bustos and the troops under the order of Estanislao López. The second half of the 1860s the real development of the population began with the construction of the tracing of the Central Argentine Railroad that would join - between other cities - Buenos Aires with Córdoba.
At the end of 1870 when the First Industrial Exhibition was showcased for the above-mentioned railroad, the president at the time, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento from Argentina realized, while in the city of Córdoba (1871), to stop at their railway station called "Dead Friar” and decided to change the name of the railway station naming it Bell Ville for a double motive: the paronomasia with Beautiful Villa in honoring to the Scottish colonists from Dunbar, Antonio and Ricardo Bell, who established themselves in the place and they had initiated an agriculture and modern ranching (cattle) in the zone. In 1872 the whole population happened to be call Bell Ville.
From the second half of the 19th century the population received great quantity of immigrants proceeding from Europe, and it obtained the range of city on August 17, 1908.
Economy Like other cities in the Humid Pampas, Bell Ville is a prosperous urban center whose economy is based on primary and secondary sectors, specifically agriculture (soybeans, wheat, sunflowers, maize) and livestock farming (cattle), as well as the processing and industrialization of agricultural raw materials. The local industry is primarily in food processing and metallurgy, particularly in the manufacturing of agricultural machinery and parts. Bell Ville is also home to 11 small and medium-sized companies specializing in the production of soccer balls, grouped under the Argentine Manufacturers' Circle of Balls and Related Products (CAFABA). The largest of these companies employs 30 staff and contracts around 150 seamstresses.
On December 29, 2000, Ordinance No. 1150/2000 was enacted, establishing the "Industrial Pole Bell Ville," which attracted several local industries to the area. According to the provincial census of 2008, the city was home to 172 small and medium-sized industries, as well as 1,040 businesses. + Census statistics value notes sourcePopulation34,439Census 2010Apartments12,808Census 2010Households11,290Census 2010Homeowners75.7%Census 2010Housing deficit24.3%2,743 housesCensus 2010Literacy rate98.5%Census 2010Unemployment rate4.4%Census 2008Employment Rate46.5%Census 2008Industries17244 metallurgical32 foodCensus 2008Businesses1,04020 pharmaciesCensus 2008Household electricity100%Census 2010Paved roads70%Census 2010Landline telephony100%Census 2010Running water100%Census 2010Sewage85%Census 2010Natural gas95%Census 2010Urban electricity supply100%Census 2010Green spaces per capita16.5 m2/per570,000 m²Census 2010Vehicles25,61011,200 cars10,200 motorcyclesCensus 2008 Governors + List of Governors of Bell Ville Name Tenure Juan Fernández 1954 - 1955 Julio C. Luna 1955 Hugo Leonelli 1955 - 1958 Ángel Viqueira 1958 - 1963 Nilo Colmano 1963 - 1966 Alerino Beltramino 1966 Ángel Viqueira 1966 - 1967 Ramón Céliz Pizarro 1967 - 1969 Horacio Ernesto Aramburo 1969 - 1973 Nilo Colmano 1973 - 1976 Gabriel Fernández 1976 - 1979 Nelso F. Gonella 1979 - 1983 Andrés A. Pérez 1983 - 1991 Nelso F. Gonella 1991 - 1997 Hugo L. García 1997 - 1999 Nelson J. Iperico 1999 - 2007 M. del Carmen Ceballos 2007 - 2011 Nelson J. Iperico 2011 - 2015 Carlos Briner 2015 - 2023 Juan Manuel Moroni 2023–Present Education Education in the city is extensive, with various institutions at different levels. Primary
Florentino Ameghino School Provincia del Neuquén School Ponciano Vivanco School Nuestra Señora del Huerto Institute San José College Hilario Ascasubi School José María Paz Schools Juan Bautista Alberdi School Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield School Superior Normal School José Figueroa Alcorta Arturo Matterson School (former National No.192) Maria Montessori Special School Leon Luis Pellegrino School for Hearing Impaired
Secondary
San José College Nuestra Señora del Huerto Institute IPEM No. 140 "Domingo Faustino Sarmiento" (former Commercial College) IPET No. 267 "Antonio Graziano" (former ENET) IPEA No. 293 "Agrónomo Orestes Chiesa Molinari" (former ENA) IPEM No. 290 "General Manuel Belgrano" (former National College) IPEM No. 87 "Robertina Moyano de Sastre" Superior Normal School "José Figueroa Alcorta" IPEM No. 46 Polyvalent Arts Center "Martín Malaharro" Adult Middle Level Educational Center No. 201 with 6 annexes (Monte Leña, San Marcos Sud, Morrison, Ballesteros, San Antonio de Litín, and Cintra)
Tertiary and University
Blas Pascal University Aeronautical University Institute Entrance courses for the National University of Córdoba Siglo 21 University "Mariano Moreno" Teaching Institute "José Gabriel Brochero" Teaching Institute Nursing School "Dr. Ramón J. Carrillo" Foundation for University Education FASTA University (Believe Comprehensive Studies Center) Belgrano University (Believe Comprehensive Studies Center)
Vocational Education CEDER (Agency for Employment Promotion and Vocational Training) School of Vocational Training Institute of Vocational Training Languages
Target English Centre English Cultural Association Alliance Française Dante Alighieri (Italian) Believe Comprehensive Studies Center Oxford Center IICANA (Argentine-North American Cultural Exchange Institute)
Arts
Superior Conservatory of Music "Gilardo Gilardi" Polyvalent Arts Center "Martín Malharro" School of Fine Arts Fernando Fader Music and Municipal Band School of Bell Ville "Ernesto Alfonso Bianchi"
Other Organizations
Music School and Municipal Band of Bell Ville "Ernesto Alfonso Bianchi"