Chiloé Archipelago

Chiloé Archipelago

Introduction

Chiloé is the largest island in Chile, located 1,000 kilometers south of Santiago. The island’s residents come from diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. The inhabitants of the surrounding areas and towns are mostly descendants of immigrants from Galicia in northern Spain. The climate here is similar to that of the Basque Country along the southern coasts of Europe—mild and humid, with abundant rainfall and cool summers each year. During the colonial era, Chiloé’s vast forests and fertile lands attracted numerous settlers. Its primeval forests were seen by Westerners as a symbol of wealth. The extensive and versatile use of wood is a unique tradition on the Chiloé Islands, not found in nearby Santiago. Wood culture has developed in its own distinctive way on Chiloé. Traditional wooden architecture, primarily built using timber, can be seen everywhere on the islands. Charles Darwin, the founder of the theory of evolution, visited the area in 1834. Although he wasn’t particularly interested in buildings, he described the wooden churches as “looking like boxes.”

Santiago, Chile