Heritages:

Let's go to learn about the heritage of the city...

Now that we have accommodation and we know relevant information, nothing better than use the day to visit and learn the heritages of the city.
The city of Santiago has 174 heritage sites, declared by the Council of National Monuments. These sites consist of barrios, monuments, archaeological and historical sites. In the old city centre is placed as much of them and can be seen and walking routes.


In the most valuable and popular monuments we can highlight: 

• Convent and Church of San Francisco: It is a temple of religious catholic faith and convent under the title of San Francisco de Asís in the historical centre of the city.

The church and the convent is the oldest architectural monument currently available in the country, dating from the colonial era. In the present, the convent is a museum to various relics of religiosity  and the colonial art. Since 1951, it has been considered as National Monument and in 1998 was presented by the Chilean authorities on Unesco as candidates to be considered for the World Heritage .

This building is important because that allows us to know about the religion at that time and its importance in ancient society; it allows us to see a little more about the past of the city.

Location: The church is located on the south side of the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, the main avenue of the city.

Adress: Londres nº 4, Santiago Centro.

More information: http://www.museosanfrancisco.cl/index.htm

• Palace and Cultural Center La Moneda: The Palace of La Moneda owes its name to the original function that it has fulfilled, this was, center of minting of coins. Its design is the work of the Italian architect Joaquín Toesca. Construction began in 1784 and culminated in the first decade of the 19th century.

These were used as materials cal of the hacienda Polpaico; arenas of the Maipo river; stones of the quarry colorada of cerro San Cristobal, oak  and cypress wood from Valdivian forests  ; locks and forging spanish Vizcaya; and 20 varieties of bricks baked in Santiago for the construction of lintels, corners, flooring, moldings and the solid walls of more than a meter thick.

In a classic style, the building is a volume horizontal that transmits strength and stability. Orients its main frontage toward the street currency, and its dependencies give rise to various patios, light sources and serenity. The palace of La Moneda is considered one of the secular buildings's most outstanding of the Colonial America. In 1846 became the headquarters for the Government, role until today.

Cultural Center Palace La Moneda is a cultural center located under the Plaza of the Ciudadanía, in front of the southern facade of the Palace of La Moneda. The CCPLM, an acronym with which it is known to the center, offers to the chilean public and foreign access to the creation and the heritage visual and audiovisual, national and international, encouraging his understanding and appreciation.

This, through exhibitions of scale, in addition to the programming of the Cineteca Nacional, outreach activities, services and additional samples.

These places are important to visit, because we can then know the place from which the president of the republic directs the country, where there are some important ministries, you can learn a little more about the city and the country in regard to the political and to the administrative for familiarize themselves with these issues and have more culture. 

Location: It is located in the commune of Santiago, between the streets Moneda (north), Teatinos (west), Morandé (east) and the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins (south). To the north is the Plaza of the Constitution and to the south, the Plaza of the Ciudadanía.

More information: http://www.ccplm.cl/sitio/ - http://www.gob.cl/la-moneda/historia/palacio-de-la-moneda/

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• Sanctuary of the Virgin María in the Cerro San Cristóbal: The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Cerro San Cristóbal is one of the main temples of the Catholic Church in Chile, in addition to being an icon of the city. It is characterized by the great image to the Immaculate Conception, which is located in the summit of Cerro San Cristóbal, a few 863 meters over the level of the sea.

The model of the sculpture belongs to the Italian sculptor Jacometti , and is of similar conditions to be found in the Plaza de España in Rome. It was built in cast iron by the smelleder Val D'Here, from Paris by means of the ambassador in France Enrique Salvador Sanfuentes. The cost was 35,274 francs of the time.

The ground on which was lifted the Sanctuary, it was donated by the Communities of the Recoleta Dominica and the Carmelite nuns of Santa Teresa. The day April 26, 1908, day of Easter, the Church of Santiago inaugurates with great solemnity the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

At the foot of the image, is an amphitheatre for officiating masses or other religious services. On one side of the statue there is also a small chapel where the parishioners can pray.

Since its construction, the Blessed Virgin has been an important part of the city, considered as "the beacon of Chile", "the mother of Santiago", and "that watches over the city. Each night the image is illuminated and can be seen from the most remote areas of the city.

Its said that the Sanctuary of  Immaculate Conception, in the Cerro San Cristóbal, is "the consolation of the sorrows of Chile".

Map:  

• Casa Colorada: The Casa Colorada owes its name that in 1888, the facade was covered with a natural dye color red. The owner on the distinguished "Count of the Conquest, don Mateo del Toro and Zambrano " who ordered its construction to the Portuguese master Joseph de la Vega in 1769. 10 Years delayed its construction and its structure broke with the architectural canons of the time, since it was the first two-storey house to its brick facade on the ground floor was covered with stones.

The Casa Colorada is perhaps because of its history and tradition, the most typical example that has been preserved at the colonial house chilean. This fact makes it an important building that reflects the architecture in colonial times and that helps us to know one part of the history of the city of Santiago.

Location: It is located in Merced street, which during the colony the people came to call Street of the Condes Crusaders, because they were the mansions of greater lineage of those times. This was the residence of don Mateo del Toro and Zambrano, the Count of the Conquest.

Adress: Merced street #860

Map: 

•  Park O'Higgins: The Park O'Higgins (formerly, Cousiño Park) is a park located in the center of the city of Santiago de Chile, specifically in the eponymous commune.

In 1870, the former "Fields of Mars" were restored by order of Luis cousiño, which engages the advice of the French landscape artist Guillermo Renner. Thus, the Park Cousiño was officially inaugurated in 1873. The old Park Cousiño was renamed Park O'Higgins in 1972, scoring in a true "green lung" of the city.

This park is an important part of the city because there are made a large number of cultural events, some massive, due to their spaces specialised as are the Arena Santiago, the Ellipse of the Parque O'Higgins, and Theater La Cúpula. It is a great contribution to the culture and is part of the history of the city.

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•  Plaza de Armas of Santiago: The Plaza de Armas of Santiago is located in the commune of Santiago, to be considered as the historical center of the capital of Chile. It is the most symbolic site of metropolitan capital. In this sector, Pedro de Valdivia founded the city in the mid 16th Century. Over the years, the city was growing around this space, set up in point of reference for the buildings which had occurred later.

The Plaza emerged in conjunction with the city on february 12, 1541. The plane in the form of cape (similar to a chess board) planned for the construction of a central plaza around which would erect is the main administrative buildings.

Between 1998 and 2000, controversy renewal of the area led to the current plaza, the mix of explanada sectors for cultural activities, especially for the classical painters and humorists, gardens and a pergola central for the implementation of the musical banda municipal.

Around the Plaza de Armas in Santiago have been erected buildings of a rich cultural and historical heritage. This fact that makes this place very important for the city as its helping us to know and understanding of its history, and also an important point for the transit of the inhabitants.

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 These are some heritage of the city ... Are you ready to visit them?