Rancagua

History and Legends

While walking down Calle del Estado (State Street), two houses that make up the Regional Museum catch the attention of visitors: Casa del Pilar de Esquina and Casa del Ochavo. Built around inner yards, with spacious corridors, thick adobe walls and tile roofs, both of them are an example of the traditional Chilean architecture.

Temporary exhibitions and cultural activities are present in the former. Objects that give proof of the regional history, traditional arts and crafts are exhibited on the second floor. Mining, agriculture, handicrafts made with vegetable fiber and metallurgy are also present.

History goes that the second house was the meeting point for Bernardo O’Higgins and General don José de San Martín when he arrived in the City of Rancagua. Some voices from history that may be heard even today assert that the successful strategies to free the southern peoples on the American continent, such as the fellow countries of Chile and Argentina, were plotted there.

Walking and thinking the city from its geographic point of view helps us understand history and, especially, the struggles for the national independence of this region in the world.