Santiago - City of Chile

Santiago is the capital of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m AMSL. Although Santiago is the capital, legislative bodies meet in nearby Valparaíso.

Approximately two decades of uninterrupted economic growth have transformed Santiago into one of Latin America's most modern metropolitan areas, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping malls, and impressive high-rise architecture. The city has some of Latin America's most modern transportation infrastructure, such as the growing Santiago Metro and the new Costanera Norte, a toll-based highway system that passes below downtown and connects the Eastern and Western extremes of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is headquarters to many important companies and is a regional financial center.

Santiago was founded by Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541 with the name Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, as a homage to Saint James and Extremadura, Valdivia's birth place in Spain. The founding ceremony was held on Huelén Hill . Valdivia chose the location of Santiago because of its climate, abundant vegetation and the ease with which it could be defended—the Mapocho River then split into two branches and rejoined further downstream, forming an island.

The first buildings were erected with the help of the native Picunche. The south bank of the Mapocho River was later drained and converted into a public promenade, known as the Alameda . The first settlers formed a cabildo or town council for administrative purposes. The Santiago council became the administrative center of all of Chile, while Spanish forces continued their conquest southward. The Council was freed from its executive and military power when the Spanish King named a new governor for Chile. Because the governor had its residence in Santiago, the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Chile.


Santiago began its transformation into a modern city in the 1930s, with the building of the Barrio Cívico, surrounding Palacio de La Moneda. The city also grew in population, due to migration from the north and south of Chile. In 1985 an earthquake destroyed some historically significant buildings in the downtown area.

Nowadays, Santiago is among the largest and most important financial centers in Latin America.


Santiago has a mild Mediterranean climate relatively hot dry summers with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius on the hottest days winters are more humid with cold mornings, typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius and minimums of a few degrees above freezing. Occasional snowfall occurs in suburbs at higher altitudes, and may extend throughout the city, though this happens infrequently . Mean rainfall is 360 mm per year.

Most of Chile's population is Catholic and Santiago is no exception. According to the National Census, carried out in 2002 by the National Statistics Bureau , in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, 3,129,249 people 15 and older identified themselves as Catholics, equivalent to 68.7% of the total population, while 595,173 described themselves as Evangelical Protestants. Around 1.2% of the population declared themselves as being Jehovah's Witnesses, while 0.9% identified themselves as Latter-day Saints , 0.25% as Jewish, 0.11% as Orthodox and 0.03% as Muslim. Approximately 10.4% of the population of the Metropolitan Region stated that they were atheist or agnostic, while 5.4% declared to follow other religions.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile is one of Chile's oldest universities and one of the most prestigious institutions in Latin America. It was founded June 21, 1888 through a decree issued by the Santiago Archbishop. Monsignor Joaquín Larraín Gandarillas was its first president. At the beginning, the university only taught two subjects: law and mathematics. However, it began to expand over the years to become what is now one of the country's most relevant higher education institutions, and a very significant university in the Americas. It is also the owner of Canal .

The University of Chile is one of the oldest universities in America, and one of the most prestigious institutions in Latin America. The university is often called Casa de Bello in honour of its founder and first principal, Andrés Bello.