Casa de Isla Negra was one of Pablo Neruda's three houses in

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 ...

. It is located at

Isla Negra Isla Negra is a coastal area in El Quisco commune in central Chile, some 45 km (70 km by road) south of Valparaiso and 96 km (110 km by road) west of Santiago. Pablo Neruda Isla Negra is best known as the residence of Chile ...

, a coastal area of

El Quisco El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago and forms part of the Coast of Poets, a cultural spa ...

commune, located about 45 km south of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and 96 km west 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, whos ...

. It was his favourite house and where he and his third wife,

Matilde Urrutia Matilde Urrutia Cerda (30 April 1912 – 5 January 1985) was the third wife of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, from 1966 until his death in 1973. They met in Santiago in 1946, when she was working as a physical therapist in Chile. She was the first woma ...

, spent the majority of their time in Chile. Neruda, a lover of the sea and all things maritime, built the home to resemble a ship with low ceilings, creaking wood floors and narrow passageways. A passionate collector, every room has a different collection of bottles, ship

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

s, maps, ships in bottles, and an impressive array of shells, which are located in their own "Under the Sea" room. Neruda fell in love with the house upon visiting the area and requested an advance from his original publisher Carlos George-Nascimento, who provided him with the money for the purchase. Neruda originally intended the house to be used as a meeting point for writers, and dedicated the place to Nascimento as a token of his gratitude. Neruda and Urrutia are buried there. In English, ''Isla Negra'' means "Black Island," which refers to a rock outcropping nearby, however Isla Negra is not an island. During the winter, the area is subject to heavy rains, which inspired Neruda to write his ''Oda a la Tormenta'' ("Ode to the Storm"). Isla Negra was also Neruda's inspiration for many other poems. The house is now a writer's home museum, managed by the Pablo Neruda Foundation, and has become a popular tourist destination.

External links

*
Pablo Neruda Foundation's Site on Isla Negra
*

Pablo Neruda's Grave
{{Coord, 33, 26, 34, S, 71, 41, 02, W, type:landmark_region:CL, display=title Houses of Pablo Neruda

Literary museums in Chile Biographical museums in Chile Historic house museums in South America Coasts of Valparaíso Region

See also

External links