Tale of Three Cities

Victoria and Its Old Fort

Back in 1881, this used to be a fort built to defend the territories conquered from the natives in the last occupation campaigns held in this Araucano region.

Today, the population of the city reaches about 20 thousand inhabitants and its most typical attractions are the main square and its market, as well as some stores that still preserve their façades.

Its most significant attraction is located between Chorrillos and Condell Streets, where the prison and the lyceum stand nowadays. Years ago, it was the site for the first settlement of the city: the fort.

Victoria is ideal to stroll about while watching the houses and streets and discovering vestiges of the times when this region was the object of struggles and riots. At present, peace rules.

Many-sided Traiguén
Leaving Victoria, the road leads us to Traiguén, a city that also started as a fort.

This small city has the particular feature of having welcomed colonists from various sites during the late XIXth. These immigrants settled down in these lands and gave life to them. Some of them were German, French, Swiss and Italian and they soon devoted their days to cultivating the land with wheat fields, most of them even brought from old Europe.

In 1889, the railway reached the city. This may be appreciated while walking down the streets of the small community. The first electric locomotive that worked in Chile in 1900 is displayed in one of its squares.

José Bunster was one of the protagonists of the town’s growth. His mills generated a significant industrial peak for years, with factories and workshops settled in the surroundings of the city.
One of them was the furniture factory called Traiguén, founded in 1888 by a Swiss colonist. It is still open for visitors all year round. The most ancient labor union in the country started there.

Capitán Pastene, the Worship of Italian Pasta

Leaving Traiguén, and only a few kilometers away, lies the District of Capitán Pastene. This city was founded in 1904 by Italian immigrants and it preserves the Italian architecture of the XXth century intact in its houses and streets.

The truth is that, in addition to devoting themselves to the activities expected in the new continent (agriculture and cattle-raising), these colonists brought along their traditions, especially their gastronomy, which they maintain to this date.

In March, the anniversary of the arrival of the first colonists is commemorated in a traditional celebration. Typical dances, fancy costumes and popular games are enjoyed along with dishes such as sausages, ham, wine and, of course, the best pasta in the entire region.