Santa Lucía Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Santa Lucía Hill (Spanish: Cerro Santa Lucía) is a small hill in downtown Santiago, Chile. It borders on Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins in the south (there is a metro station near the hill whose name is homonymous), Santa Lucía Street in the west and Victoria Subercaseaux. Santa Lucia Hill has an altitude of 629 m and a height of 69 m. It has a surface of 65.300m². Adorned previously with ornate facades, stairways, and fountains, today an adjacent metro station is named for it. Atop the hill, there is a vista point unsurpassed inside Santiago except by Cerro San Cristóbal. It is a frequent spot for tourists visiting the city.

[edit] History

It was originally called Huelén by the pre-colonization inhabitants; in Mapudungun the word means "pain, melancholy or sadness". However, the name comes from the day in which Pedro de Valdivia conquered the hill, on December 13, 1541. That day celebrates "Santa Lucía."

Its first use by its conquerors was as a point of reconnaissance, or a lookout in the years of the Conquista (1541).

On one side, the actual hillside was used as a cemetery for the dissidents, people who refused to follow the common doctrine of the times or committed suicides. Although, years later this cemetery was moved to the general cemetery. On the other hand, Fort Hidalgo was built in 1820 as a defensive point.

In 1872 Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna decided to conduct a dramatic change to the urban atmosphere of the city of Santiago, among his many works aimed to improve the city, and thus initiated the construction of the hill.

The works of 1872 consisted of a road which crossed the hill, which at the top accessed a chapel which he also built there, illuminated by the then-novel means of gas. The hill is occupied for the most of the rest by a park in which are found trees, fountains and lookouts. The actual hill is watered by a sophisticated irrigation system.

Vicuña Mackenna was assisted in realizing his designs by the architect Manuel Aldunate, the constructor Enrique Henes, and the stonecutter Andrés Staimbuck.

A few years ago, Santa Lucía hill received an improvement in its illumination system and protections. Also, the Fort Hidalgo was restored and reopened to the public. Traditionally, a cannon is shot at, exactly, 12:00. However, it caused problems with noise pollution, as a result the debicels, produced by the shoot, were reduced in order to avoid the noise pollution.

[edit] Curiosity

Located in Santa Lucía Hill there is a monument which consists of a 2 mts height stone carved with a paragraph extracted from the text that Pedro de Valdivia sent to the Emperor Carlos V describing the features of the new land conquered.

[edit] Inside Santa Lucía Hill

Fountain in "Patio Circular".	Old path of the Train.	Outlook from Santa Lucía towards Alameda.	Outlook of the Pedro de Valdivia square.
Monument of Pedro de Valdivia	Monument of archbishop Manuel Vicuña Larrain.	Monument of people who refused to follow the common doctrine of the time or committed suicides.	A list with the name of people who founded the city of Santiago during the first cabildo abierto.