La Plata is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the 2010 census [INDEC], it has a population of 793,144 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 987,294 inhabitants.
La Plata was planned and developed to serve as the provincial capital after the city of Buenos Aires was federalized in 1880. It was officially founded by Governor Dardo Rocha on 19 November 1882. Its construction is fully documented in photographs by Tomás Bradley Sutton. La Plata was briefly known as Ciudad Eva Perón between 1952 and 1955.
The city is home to two important first division football teams: Estudiantes de La Plata and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.