Plaza de Armas (Santiago)

[1] There are also other architecturally significant buildings that face the square, including the Capilla del Sagrario, the Palacio arzobispal, the Edificio Comercial Edwards, and the Portal Fernández Concha.

[3][4] There would have been a Tawantinsuyu (Inca Empire) urban centre, under the old city of Santiago, from which Inca roads went out in different directions and whose base of sustenance was hydro-agriculture and gold and silver mining, [...] the infrastructure of this installation would have been used by (the Spanish conqueror) Pedro de Valdivia to found the city of Santiago.The Chilean Capital was founded by Pedro de Valdivia.

At the end of the century Ignacio Cremonesi was commissioned by Bishop Casanova to carry out an integral remodelling of the cathedral, which included new façades, a modification of the interior nave and the construction of two towers facing the square and a dome over the main altar.

From west to east, the actual Correo Central, the Museo Histórico Nacional and the Ilustre Municipalidad de Santiago are located.

The Museo Histórico Nacional is located in the former building of the Palacio de la Real Audiencia, the main colonial court in the country.

Built between 1804 and 1807 by a disciple of Toesca, after the Independence of Chile it was the seat of various ministries until they were moved to La Moneda, as was the presidential residence.

A fire in 1891 forced a reconstruction by the architect Eugenio Joannon, and the new building was inaugurated in 1895 and officially declared the seat of the communal administration.