Santiago Memorable Buildings

Santiago has an impressive architectural array particularly in the central city around the Plaza de Armas. The following four buildings are all worth a look.

The central post office (Correo Central) fronts the Plaza and is built on the site of Pedro de Valdivia’s house. A Governor’s Palace was built here in the 17th century and was used by the head of state until it burned down. The present building in French neo-classical style was built in 1882-3 with a third-story mansard and cupola added in 1908. There is a central atrium covered by a cast-iron roof and an interesting postal museum upstairs. Go inside to fully appreciate the building.

Immediately to the east at Plaza de Armes 951 is the Museum of National History (Museo Historico Nacional, Tel: 411 7000). This is housed in the neoclassical Palacio de la Real Audiencia which was built as the country’s high court in 1804-7. The first independent governing council met here and it served as the seat of government until 1846 when this activity moved to the Moneda. The building was refurbished in the early 1980s and opened in 1982 as the museum.

To the south of the Plaza at Merced 860 is the Casa Colorada, the best preserved of Santiago’s three surviving colonial houses. The Museum of Santiago (Tel: 633 0723) is reached through the main entrance while a tourist information office is in another part of the building. The building was constructed in 1769-79 by a Portuguese architect for the first president of the junta in 1810. The two-story baroque streetfront was very unusual for the time with shops on the ground and family quarters above. It is still an impressive building.

One of the most impressive buildings in this area is the ex-Congreso Nacional on Campania. This was built in 1857-1876 by a French architect and then was damaged by fire in 1895. It was built in the neoclassical style with a very grand portico and this remains today.

Just to the south, the Casa de la Real Aduana on the corner of Bandera and Compania was built in 1805-07 in the neoclassical style to house the royal customs office. Today it is home to the excellent Museo Chileno de Arte Precolumbino (Tel: 688 7348) which is probably the most impressively displayed collection in Chile. The collection consists of over 3000 pieces covering a period of over 5000 years.

The present-day Plaza de Armas is on the site of the central square laid out by Pedro de Valdivia when he founded Santiago in 1541. Unlike many South American plazas, there is no lawn but there are trees, paths, paved areas and seats. It is still the heart of the city.

The first church was built on the square in 1551 and subsequent ones were built after the earthquakes of 1647 and 1730. The present building was built in 1748-75 but it was not long before Joaquin Toesca remodelled the facade in neo—classical style. The towers were added in the 1879 – 1906 period and further changes were made to the facades of the cathedral, church offices and archbishop’s palace to make them more unified. The size of the Cathedral cannot be fully appreciated from the front entrance, so make sure you duck around Calle Catedral to observe the building in its full monolithic dimensions.

This is undoubtedly Chile’s grandest church and you should not miss it. The interior is equally impressive so take some time to appreciate the gilded altars and other elements. Inside, it is possible to appreciate three naves, as well as a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Along the right nave there are urns said to contain remains of the first Chilean cardinal and others. The central nave leads past magnificently carved mahogany altar seats to the white marble main altar constructed in Munich in 1912. You also see the 16th-century pulpits, the 1756 organ and the altar of Santa Teresa of the Andes.

The Left Nave has a succession of altars, like Patron of the City (Santiago the Major) and the San Miguel Archangel, with its beautiful statue. The most outstanding is the Holy Sacrament chapel, similar to the Saint John and Saint Paul Martyr chapel in Rome.

There are Masses from Monday to Sunday of 9 to 19 hours. The Cathedral was declared a National Monument in 1951 and houses the Museum of Sacred Art which surprisingly only opens on a Monday. We didn’t see it.

This very impressive building was designed by the self-taught architect Fermin Vivaceta and is built of cast iron parts fabricated in Britain. It was built for the National Exposition of 1872. Since then it has survived as the city’s premier seafood market.

We had been told about it but didn’t have an exact address so it took a bit of locating. The effort was well worthwhile, however, as the amazing variety of fish and other seafood laid out on glistening beds of ice is a great sight. Another section sells fruit and vegetables. The big bonus, however, was the discovery of the seafood restaurants which share space in the building. We had one of our best meals in Santiago right here. You should note that the market only opens until 4pm on weekdays and 6pm on weekends so this is not the place for an evening meal.

The Donde Augusto restaurant with its many outlets within the market is the best known but we were put off by the aggressive behaviour of the touts which approached us the moment we entered the building. We settled later for the La Joya del Pacifica restaurant and were very happy with our meal and the relaxed environment. Naturally we had a seafood soup and a large serve of salmon and really enjoyed it. The restaurant served complimentary pisca sours. With mashed potato and loads of fresh bread served with a delicious tomato and onion mix, we struggled to finish all we had ordered.

There is plenty of local interest around the market. Pedestrianised Puente leads south to the Plaza de Armas while if you head north west you can reach the former Mapocho railway station with its huge copper and glass roof supported by ironwork fabricated in Belgium. There are similarities between this and the central market. The railway station is now used as a cultural centre.

This imposing neo-Renaissance building was constructed in 1736-60 and then rebuilt in the 1790s. Unfortunately it is crowded in by other buildings and two streets but the cool interior is worth seeing and it is a good stopping point if you are doing an extensive central city walk. We had been walking for about 90 minutes when we reached here so we took the chance for a break while we sat and admired the interior. The church was surprisingly busy for a weekday late morning and most people were city workers and shoppers stopping to say a prayer.

The two highlights within the church are probably the 18th century pulpit set amongst the elaborate arches and an image of the Virgen de la Merced said to date from 1548. Note the large amount of memorial plaques in the walls, where famous personages of history are buried, like Rodrigo de Quiroga and his wife, Ines de Suárez; Mateo de Toro and Zambrano and the governor of Chile, Antonio Guill de Gonzaga (1767). There are masses on Monday to Friday at 7:30, 12:30 and 19:30 hours; Saturday at 12:30 and 19:30 hours, Sunday at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 and 19:30 hours.

The cloister houses a museum (Tel: 664 9189) which has a good collection of pieces from Easter Island. In seven rooms, this interesting and renewed museum exhibit contains testimonies and memories of the missionary and colonial life of the Merced order. Stand outs in the exhibits are the Rongorongo tablet, a piece still indecipherable because of its Rapanui script of which there are just a few in the world; a stone head that represents the God Make Make and diverse command buttons. There are also objects of American cultures, religious objects, an enormous choral book and a series of colonial paintings of the Kings of Israel and Judea. Although I am not a great museum enthusiast, I found this more interesting than many church museums.

You are now close to the pedestrianised zone to the south of the Plaza de Armas which is lined with shops and other attractions. Just head west along Compania

This impressive building which seats around 1,800 was originally built in 1853-57 by architect Francois Brunet des Baines and engineer Augusto Charme but it burned down in the Great Fire of 1870. What you see today is a rebuilt version to the original plans which was opened by a great Italian opera company presented the opera "La Fuerza del Destino" by Giuseppe Verdi. It is the city’s main venue for opera, ballet and symphonic concerts.


A new disaster affected the building in 1906 when an earthquake destroyed the foyer and main hall. The architect Emilio Doyer, a Frenchman living in Santiago, was responsible for the repairs. He maintained the appearance of the main hall, but changed the foyer. Another fire, in 1927, caused severe damage to the stage and aisles. With its restoration, an extended stage was built and this has added considerably to the versatility of the venue.

Apart from the main hall, concerts are also held in the 250 seat Sala Claudio Arrau. This was inaugurated personally by the famous Chilean pianist's during a visit to Chile in 1984.
On the second floor there are numerous work areas for sculpture, painting and props, which support the operas and ballet. In 1974, the beautiful building was declared a National Monument.

Some of the artists who have performed here over the years are Anna Pavlova, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Arthur Rubinstein, Claudio Arrau, Jan Kubelik, and Yehudi Menuhin. The winter season is when most activity takes place and this is when most Northern Hemisphere performers visit. Most of the performances are done in Spanish or Italian