Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012 - (Page 88)

T here is no there there,” Gertrude Stein famously said of Oakland, Calif., and Santiago residents could say the same about their own native city. Sandwiched between the breathtaking Andes to the east and the craggy Pacific coastline to the west, the capital of Chile is a busy, upwardly mobile metropolis whose identity and nerve center have been replaced and displaced over and over. But this doesn’t mean the city lacks a vibrant personality — rather, it’s peppered through a fertile patchwork of neighborhoods bursting with clues to a wonderfully rich past. Founded by Spaniard Pedro de Valdivia in 1541, colonial Santiago was as Spanish as any New World settlement, with its broad town square and venerable cathedral, both of which still exist. In the 19th century, Santiago was poised to become the Paris of the Pacific, with graceful beaux-arts buildings, a majestic train station designed by Gustave Eiffel and stately boulevards lined with patrician homes. In the 20th century, car culture and upward mobility spawned American-style suburbs (complete with McMansions) tucked into the foothills of the Andes. As if that weren’t enough of a smorgasbord, Chile itself is known as “the England of South America,” where afternoon teatime is the most recognizable vestige of the 19th-century British who plumbed the country’s subterranean mineral wealth. There is a lot to absorb and much to see — if you know where to look. Happily, the city’s mindbendingly gridlocked rush hour has spawned an enthusiastic local cycling movement and bike lanes that are a nice way to get acquainted with the city. A logical place to start is the area around the Plaza de Armas, which dates back to the city’s birth. At the corner of Compañía and Bandera, the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, a former customs house, contains a beautifully exhibited collection of preColumbian art from across the Americas, revealing what was here before the Spanish colonized the land, before the English built steam trains and copper mines, and before the neo-liberal 1980s introduced Chileans to credit cards and gleaming supermarkets. At the northwest corner of the Plaza de Armas is the Museo Histórico Nacional, in a building that was the seat of the first national congress until 1840. Its collection includes the mysterious perfumed ceramics of the St. Clare nuns, armor, textiles and paintings (notably Pedro Lira’s epic depiction of the foundation of Santiago). 88 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Hong Kong
Design
Auto
Technology
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Palm Beach
Wellness
Santiago

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012

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