One of the liveliest places we found in Santiago was the Plaza de Armas, the large square at the point where the city was founded in 1541. It’s served as a seat of power and authority since then, and most likely was home to an Inca religious before that.
For much of the time after that, it was simply a flat open square, similar to the Zocalo in Mexico City, surrounded by government buildings and the Cathedral, used for markets, for military drill and public ceremonies. Among the buildings that grew up around it were the Cabildo, center of Spanish colonial administration, the Palacio de Real Audiencia (royal courts), the Metropolitan Cathedral, and eventually a central post office and other buildings.
The Cathedral and its newer neighbors
In the last half of the 19th century, copying European models, Santiago started building and rethinking parks, and Plaza de Armas began turning into a park, a place to spend leisure time, and still a place for public rallies and activities.
The square has plenty of statues, from founder Pedro de Valdivia to liberator Simon Bolivar, to a beloved Archbishop who resisted the Pinochet regime.
Today, after several renovations, most recently in 2013, Plaza de Armas is headed for its 500th anniversary with a full range of important buildings and activities, and plenty of people to enjoy them.
Major buildings along the edge of the Plaza de Armas include this wonderful Beaux Arts central post office building, now a shopping mall; its next-door neighbor, the Royal Court building that now houses the National History museum and the Cathedral itself.
And even a suitable spot for birds to roost.
