The ''Plaza de Armas De San Fernando'' is the main square of

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 ...

, the capital of

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 ...

Plaza de Armas metro station Plaza de Armas is a transfer station between the Line 3 and Line 5 of the Santiago Metro. It is located under the Plaza de Armas of Santiago. The Line 5 station was opened on 3 March 2000 as part of the extension of the line from Baquedano to S ...

is located under the square. Surrounding the square are some historic buildings, including the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, Central Post Office Building,

Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago (English: ''Royal Court Palace or Palace of the Boxes'') is a building located in the north central village of the Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile. The building dates back to 1808 and houses, since 198 ...

, and the building that serves as the

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

for

, which was formerly occupied by the Cabildo of the city before being remodeled. There are also other architecturally significant buildings that face the square, including the Capilla del Sagrario, the

Palacio arzobispal The Palacio Arzobispal is the residence of the Archbishop of Manila located in Intramuros, Manila. The Archiepiscopal Palace of Manila was established as one of the five episcopal palaces in the Philippines. The Arzobispado The ''Arzobispado'' wa ...

, the Edificio Comercial Edwards, and the Portal Fernández Concha. The

Casa Colorada Casa Colorada (English: ''Red House'') is a colonial house built located in Santiago, Chile. It was built in 1769, by Joseph de la Vega for Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, and currently houses the Museo de Santiago (English: ''Museum of Santiago''). Th ...

, the Cuartel General del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago and the

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art ( es, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino) is an art museum dedicated to the study and display of pre-Columbian artworks and artifacts from Central and South America. The museum is located in the city centre ...

are located a short walk from the square.

History

The church is the centerpiece of the initial layout of Santiago, which has a square

grid pattern In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...

. This urban design was accomplished by Pedro de Gamboa, who was appointed by

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...

in 1541.

Freedom of Latin America monument

The monument is located at the center of the square and depicts an allegory of Freedom, with a woman breaking the chains of a native woman. It is made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

and sculpted by Francesco Orselino. The monument replaced a bronze fountain made in 1671, which is presently located in

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secret ...

. Other commemorative structures include an equestrian statue of Pedro de Valdivia, a statue of

James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

, the indigenous peoples monument, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

, and ground plaques, including that marking the

kilometre zero In many countries, kilometre zero (also written ''km 0'') or similar terms in other languages (also known as zero mile marker, zero milepost, control stations or control points) denote a particular location (usually in the nation's capital cit ...

of Santiago.

References

{{Coord, -33.43791, -70.65036, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CL-RM, display=title Buildings and structures in Santiago Squares in Chile Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile

History

Freedom of Latin America monument

See also

References