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By Marc Killinger; source: El Mercurio.

A casual tourist happening upon the small, isolated town of Chanco might very well dismiss it as a decaying backwater not worth a look-see. However, local businesspeople and community leaders saw things differently and proposed that the community’s typical architecture and, indeed, their way of life be preserved and displayed to the nation. Thanks to their efforts, Chanco was recently designated a "zona tipica" (historic zone) by Chile’s Council of National Monuments.

Located just inland from the Pacific Ocean in south central Region VI, Chanco is mainly known in Chile as the home of a kind of bland cheese, also called Chanco. The discerning visitor will find in Chanco simple and authentic building facades of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They hug the street in typical Spanish style, continuing for uniform blocks along sometimes dirt streets. They're painted in rustic shades of ochre, cream and turquoise, and feature interesting woodwork details around the doors and windows.

Chanco is also unique because at the beginning of the 19th century it was threatened by nearby ocean dunes, which, because of deforestation and erosion were moving closer and closer every year. However, Federico Albert, a German naturalist, stopped the process by planting a startling mixture of trees and shrubs. The area between the town and the sea is now preserved as the Federico Albert National Reserve, and includes an impressive number of different species, according to Angel Cabezas, executive secretary of the Council of National Monuments.

The historic classification was strongly supported by the forestry company Bosques de Chile and the Consultora Urbe architectural and urban design agency, who are building the "Green Pacific" housing and commercial project on the ocean near Chanco. Architect Raul Correa said Urbe found 35 buildings of historic value in the town when it did the architectural investigation for the Typical Zone designation, which was granted on May 26, 2000 and announced by President Ricardo Lagos at a ceremony in the town.

The purpose of the designation is to preserve and prompt the restoration of this typical architecture, Cabezas says, adding that it doesn’t limit more construction. "The idea is to develop a building plan that establishes a set of municipal-wide regulations to preserve the current style."

Visitors to the area may find very modest accommodations in the small beach towns of Pelluhue and Curanipe.

While Chanco is easy to access, in Santiago state-owned buildings that are considered part of the national heritage are not generally open to viewing, but will now be opened to visitors on the last Sunday of every month. President Ricardo Lagos launched what was intended to be a one-time National Patrimony Day on May 28. So many people turned out to tour the colonial-era palaces and homes as well as 19th century government buildings that it was decided to continue the event.

More than a dozen buildings in downtown Santiago will be open to the public on June 25. A suggested short tour begins at La Moneda, the neoclassical and Baroque government palace located adjacent to the Moneda subway stop on the Alameda. It was completed in 1846 during the presidency of Manuel Bulnes by Italian architect Joaquin Toesca.

Just to the east of La Moneda across Morande Street is the metropolitan regional governor’s office, the Intendencia de Santiago. It opened as the headquarters of El Diario Ilustrado (Illustrated Newspaper) in 1916, but was purchased by the government 12 years later. Done in a neoclassical French style, the four-story structure is organized around a huge entrance gallery with a stunning, stained-glass cupola.

The stock exchange building one block further east at La Bolsa 64 opened in December 1863. It is based on French Renaissance style and has survived many an earthquake despite being built on sloping ground on a street still paved with cobblestones.

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