Colonial Santiago
Despite threats from Indian attacks and natural disasters such as earthquakes, and floods, Santiago was rapidly settled. Of the 126 blocks designed by Gamboa in 1558, 40 were occupied by 1580, while nearby lands supported tens of thousands of livestock. These early settlers constructed the first important buildings in the city, including the first Cathedral in 1561 and the Church of San Francisco, built in 1618. Both structures were built primarily of adobe and stone.
In 1767, the corregidor Luis Manuel de Zañartu began construction on the Calicanto Bridge, one of the most important architectural works of the entire colonial period in Chile. The bridge was completed in 1779 and linked the two halves of the city across the Mapocho River.
In 1770, Governor Agustín de Jáuregui hired the Italian architect Joaquín Toesca to design, among other important works, the facade of the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral and La Moneda, the presidential palace. The government of Ambrosio O'Higgins opened a major road to Valparaíso in 1791.
Famous quotes containing the word colonial:
“Are you there, Africa with the bulging chest and oblong thigh? Sulking Africa, wrought of iron, in the fire, Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars.”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)