Huerta del Maule or Huerta de Maule is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an hamlet (''caserío'') in San Javier,

Linares Province Linares ( es, Provincia de Linares) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares. Administration As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level adminis ...

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

. This picturesque and

bucolic A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

place, with a current permanent population of less than 300, used to have far more importance and population two centuries ago, having been a strategic place because of its location at the south of the

Maule river The Maule river or Río Maule ( Mapudungun: ''rainy'') is one of the most important rivers of Chile. It is inextricably linked to the country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern hist ...

and west of the

Loncomilla River Loncomilla River (Mapudungun for "Gold of the Chief") is a tributary to the Maule river in Linares Province, Maule Region, Chile."Lonc ...

in central Chile, over the busy, old colonial route from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

to Concepción.

History

Huerta del Maule was officially founded with the name of "San Antonio de la Florida" in 1754. Although a settlement already existed there since the second half of the 17th century, originally associated to the presence of a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, and according to tradition, was further encouraged by the discovery of gold in its environs. Typically, the inhabitants of Chile's Maule Region in colonial times were strongly rooted to their

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

s and, for a long time, there was strong resistance by the population to leave the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

areas and small villages and move to the cities. As in other villages of the region, in Huerta de Maule, the productive agricultural and commercial activities kept the place alive and relatively wealthy.

Traditions

In Huerta de Maule, October 4 marks the traditional celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, a popular religious festival presided by the

local bishop An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

, that brings to the village thousands of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s and tourists every year.

Geography

Huerta del Maule lies in the

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

s of a low-altitude

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

of the " Cordillera de la Costa" in Central Chile, west of the Loncomilla river and the Gupo hill, and southwest of the town of

San Javier, Chile San Javier () is a Chilean city and commune located in the Province of Linares, Maule Region. The city lies in the geographical center of the country, some south of Santiago, to the northwest of the provincial capital, Linares, and to the sout ...

. Altitude: 496 m.

Demography

According to the 1992

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Huerta del Maule had a population of 308, which had fallen to less than 270, in 2002. The area surrounding Huerta de Maule is sparsely populated. Within a radio of seven miles from the place there live a mere 2,000 people.

Climate

The climate of the zone is temperate, with an average temperature of 14.4 °C (or 57.92 °F) and an average annual precipitation of 680 mm concentrated between the months of June and August.

Sources

*http://www.oresteplath.cl/antologia/animita3.html *http://www.obispadodelinares.cl/parroquias_sanjavier.php

External links

Google Map Show Huerta de Maule, in the center, at the north-west of this, The Gupo hill, of green color

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huerta Del Maule Populated places established in 1754 Populated places in Linares Province 1754 establishments in the Spanish Empire