La Serena ("the serene one") is the second oldest city in Chile. The city, located about 500km north of Santiago, has a population of around 100,000. It was founded on the orders of Pedro de Valivia in the 1540s in order to provide a sea link between Santiago and Lima. The town has retained its historic architecture and this, along with a selection of beaches, has caused the city to become a significant tourist centre.

Its traditional architecture consists of a series of housing and public buildings, of late 19th-century vintage, built with wood from the US state of Oregon brought to Chile as counterweight in sailing vessels coming to Coquimbo, the nearby port, to load copper and other minerals for transport back to the US. This oregon pine, and the use of adobe create the genuine image of the city.

There is also a series of remarkable and valuable small churches built with stone of sedimentary origin quarried from some 5 km to the north of river Elqui, with a characteristic color and texture formed by millions of small shells. This churches are all roughly 350 years old. All of them have undergone restauration in variable extent, bringing them back to their original and registered historical shape. Some names: San Francisco, San Agustin, Santo Domingo.

The Cathedral, built with the same stone, dates to the 19th century; it must be said that although it lacks the same historical value, this building, like all the others, is a stone building in a seismic country, and have survived various earthquakes along their existence, with almost no visible damage. All these churches, along with others of minor importance, conform a unique urban landscape and are part of the image of the city, giving it its nickname of "The City of Churches."

Source: Patrimonio Cultural de La Serena y Coquimbo, 1979, Ministerio de la Vivienda y Urbanismo, Chile. Personal investigation as architecture student in the 1980s.

Soon: Summary on 20th century architecture.

• Contribution from Agustín Gálvez, Architect, agustingalvez@hotmail.com
• Improvements on Gálvez' English done by wareq