"Amphitheatre City" a Valparaíso Travel Page by Ramonq

I called this an amphitheatre city because its location appears like one. The city cascades down the mountain-side, like an amphitheatre, towards the city centre which is way down below by the sea. Valparaiso allows you stunning views of the Pacific Ocean as you wind down the steep roads leading to the centre. The citizens of Valparaiso must have sturdy legs in able to meander around town effortlessly. One needs a car if you are a tourist around town, although there are ferrocarrils and even a Metro that service certain areas of the city. It is Chile's answer to San Francisco or Hong Kong. But this city is older than the two as it was founded in 1536 by Spanish explorers. it is also interesting to note that Valparaiso , which faces the Pacific Ocean, also governs the Easter Island, thousands of miles away from here. Hence there is an Easter Island museum here where one can see an original Rapa Nui statues called moai.

Valparaiso is a very Latin American city. There are lots of Spanish colonial style architecture in town and the most impressive is the town hall near the port. Of course there are lots of baroque style Catholic churches and civic buildings. Back in the 19th century, Valparaiso was also a Chilean economic powerhouse, so many turn of the century office buildings were constructed in the city centre. You can see that Valparaiso was once a thriving place for business, a financial hub even outshining Santiago, the capital city. The 19th century were the golden years for Valparaiso because this city was the first port of call for most ships that have gone through the Cape Horn of South America enroute to the west coasts of America. It became a financial centre for merchants who have interests in trade between the Pacific side of America and Europe. However the opening of the Panama Canal became Valparaiso's slow demise and one can see that it is not as prosperous as it once was. Yet it still plays an important role in Chilean maritime industry and the Chilean navy has a strong presence here.

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Boomtimes

The area was discovered by Juan de Saavedra in 1536 and he named after his hometown Valparaiso in Spain. It was until 1544 the the port was founded by Valdivia but it was then called Puerto de Santiago to serve the maritime needs of the inland capital city of Santiago de Chile. The foundations of the city was laid and the first church was the La Matriz in the 1550's. As part of the Spanish colonial empire, Santiago remained a sleepy town visited by famous explorers such as Francis Drake and Cavendish. Religious orders entered into the scene in the 17th and 18th century and they monasteries and churches. But Valparaiso remained a small town with rudimentary houses. By the early 19th century, Chile became a republic and Santiago de Chile as its capital city, and Valparaiso as its main sea port. Chile declared Valparaiso as an open international port much like Hong Kong. As a result, Valparaiso became an international financial hub. Large influx of English, Germans, Italians and Spanish traders and merchants settled in Valparaiso. As they became prosperous, stately mansions were built on the slopes Cerros Alegre and Concepcion which can still be seen today. Along Calle Condell, fine French boutiques mushroomed and Valparaiso had a very cosmopolitan air. Universities, schools, churches, theatres were quickly built during most of the 19th century as trade between Europe and the Americas flourished. Land was so much in demand that there was a lot of land reclamation. Valparaiso reached its golden age when the city became a pioneer in cutting edge technology such as electricity, gaslight, tramways and telegraph. Funicular cable cars were installed to transport people up and down the steep slopes of Valparaiso. Despite thousands of miles from Europe and America, Valparaiso was up there with New York and Paris when it comes to modernity and enlightenment.

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Moai from Easter Island

Heritage City

Alas, a disastrous earthquake destroyed Valparaiso in the early 20th century. But what ensured the slow decline of Valparaiso was the building of the Panama Canal. The spotlight on Valparaiso was focused elsewhere and fewer ships docked on its port. Traders moved elsewhere and Valparaiso became a mere shadow of itself during the rest of the 20th century.

However, all the vestiges of the golden age of Valparaiso has remained. The Plaza de Sotomayor still stands proud and majestic. In the financial district, the stately and grand beaux arts buildings remain. The churches, parks and theatres are still in use. It's as if time stood still. For tourists, this is an excellent place to imagine what the world was like in the 19th century. I wandered around this hilly city and rode the rusty funicular cable cars. Yet the 21st century is not far away. The Metro has arrived in Valparaiso and so has globalisation.