La Serena, Chile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

La Serena is a Chilean city and commune in Elqui Province and capital of the
Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's third oldest city
after Santiago and Arica. It is located 471 km north of Santiago, and has a
communal population of 190,716 (2006 projection, and 400,000 the Greater La
Serena) area, the country's fourth largest conurbation (pop. 300,000, 2002
census), which includes nearby Coquimbo. and an area of 1,892.80 km². It is
one of the fastest-growing areas of Chile, witnessing a population increase
of 32.6% between 1992 and 2002.

History

La Serena was first founded by Spaniard Captain Juan Bohón in September 4,
1544 on the orders of Pedro de Valdivia in order to provide a sea link
between Santiago and Lima. In 1549 the town was totally destroyed by local
Indians and re-founded the same year by Captain Francisco de Aguirre in a
safer location. The town has retained its historic architecture and this,
along with a selection of beaches (known as Avenida del Mar, "Sea Avenue"),
has caused the city to become a significant tourist centre, attracting many
foreigners (most of them Argentines from San Juan and Mendoza provinces)
during January, and later Santiago residents fleeing February heat.

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 number of remarkable and valuable small churches built of
sedimentary stone quarried 5 km to the north of the Elqui River, having a
characteristic color and texture formed by myriad small shells. These
churches are all roughly 350 years old and have undergone restoration to
varying degrees, bringing them back to their original form. San Francisco,
San Agustín, Santo Domingo are the names of a few of them.

The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena. The
Cathedral, built from the same stone, dates from the 19th century. It must
be said that although it lacks the same historical value as the older
churches, this is a stone building in a country prone to seismic activity,
and has survived various earthquakes. Indeed, during centuries of existence,
there is almost no visible damage. All of these churches, along with others
of minor importance, provide a unique urban landscape, an image for the city
giving it the nickname "The City of Churches."

Demography

La Serena in the last 20 years has grown 100%. The commune has a surface of
1,892.8 km ² (730.8 sq. miles), with a population of 160,148, according to
the census of 2002, of which 77,385 were men and 82,763 were women. The
population growth since 1992 was 32.6 %. Of the whole, 147,815 live in urban
areas and 12,333 in rural areas. In the city of La Serena, proper, 155,815
persons live, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Chile
(INE), based on the census of 2002. The statistics supposed for 2008
according to estimations of the INE say that the population of La Serena
will be 205,120 persons (December) and 244,070 for 2012.

Geography

The city is divided into sectors. In the northern part the sector of "Las
Compañias", subdivided in two sub sectors named "Compañia Alta" and Compañia
Baja. In the north area Caleta San Pedro. In the southern part they find the
sectors of "La Pampa", "San Joaquín" and "El Milagro". In the eastern part
the sectors are "La Antena" , "Juan XXIII", "La Florida", "Colina el Pino"
and University Neighborhood. Finally, in the western part one finds the
sector of the Avenida del Mar.

Climate

The climate in the city of La Serena is similar to nearby places in that it
is clearly seasonal - in Summer there is an absence of precipitation, but
with abundant morning cloudiness and drizzles. These dissipate around noon,
giving way to clear skies and hot temperatures that range between 12 and 18
degrees Celsius. In winter the temperatures descend to between 6 and 12
degrees Celsius. Being located in a coastal zone the minimums and maximums
are moderated by the maritime influence and the temperature of the ocean
Pacific Ocean. Beginning in May the region's climate is strongly affected by
the Humboldt Current that includes the zone of Atacama Region. Winter
(specifically in June to August) is the rainy season, with a total
precipitation approximately 120mm annually in the zone in a normal year, a
notable exception being the year 1997 which experienced a total rainfall in
the city near 500mm.

Tourism

The old town of the city presents the only architecture in the country,
dividing for being the biggest Typical Zone of Chile, adempas of being the
zone of architectural and historical preservation inside an urban, more
important zone of the Country. The churches stand out with beautiful models
of belfries, there being gained the title of City of the belfries.

Church Cathedral of La Serena (Historical Monument from 1981) Construction
initiated by the French architect Jean Herbage, the year 1844, and dedicated
in 1856. It is the biggest temple of the city, constructed in neoclassic
style, measures 60 meters of extension per 20 meters of width, with 3
central bodies. Inside one finds the organ donated by the filántropa calm
down Juana Ross de Edwards. The belfry dates back from the 20th century.

The beaches of the Avenida Del Mar are one of the most crowded walks of La
Serena, joining El Faro Monumental, in the south with an extension of 6 km
and adjacent with Peñuelas's beach (Coquimbo). However, the beaches of La
Serena have very rough water and are not suitable for swimming. In
comparison Coquimbo's beaches, such as The Horse-shoe have very calm water
and clean sands.

This avenue includes 12 sections of beaches known like: The Faro, The Forts,
Tame, White, The Boat, 4 Corners, The Sea-coast, The Fisherman, The Corsair,
Sea horse, The Gulls and Singing of the Water. All of them except the beacon
are suitable for the swimming and aquatic and nautical sports. In the recent
years the La Serena Song Festival (created in 2004) has been acquiring
national importance, due to the great quality of the invited artists. Also
projects have been approved as a new international airport. Real estate
development along the beach has created a tourist - residential development
from the Elqui river up to the lighthouse.

Transport

La Serena relies on diverse means of transport to connect the downtown with
the peripheral neighborhoods and Coquimbo, such as collective taxis, taxis
and tourbus. In the past the city was the principal railway center for
passengers' transport to travel to the interior zone of Vicuña and Ovalle
Today the only railroad that even passes along some sectors of the city is
the one from the mine of Iron El Romeral, which takes the ore to Guayacán's
port in Coquimbo.

Also it relies on a Terminal de Buses, that provides transport from La Serena to most of the country and an airport, with daily flights to Santiago, Antofagasta, Arica, Copiapó and other destinations. Today there is a project to move the La Florida Airport to another area near to Tongoy, Coquimbo, due to the population growth of the current area"La Florida", where there are residential areas very near the airport with the danger that this implies.