Location
The Barrio Bellavista is located in Santiago, Metropolitan Region of Chile. The sector begins on the north side of the Mapocho River at the height of the Cerro San Cristobal. The perimeter has the Pio Nono Street as main road, which runs through the Barrio Bellavista in North - South direction.
History
El Barrio Bellavista was once known as the Chimba, Quechua phrase meaning "the other shore", this expression is born in the colonial era, when the sector was occupied by low-income families, who settled to live on the slopes of the Cerro San Cristobal. It took a whole century for an official bridge to be built to provide formal access to this area.
In 1979 is the Cal y Canto Bridge inaugurated, and later demolished, but the usefulness of the building opened the doors to the urbanization of the north area of the Mapocho. It quickly became the place of residence of the aristocracy linked to literature, painting, and general art of the twentieth century. Along with that it housed the fervently Catholic family homes, so much that there was the first Archbishop Normal School to train Catholics teachers built.
In the 80's the Barrio Bellavista was the place of art and intellectual par excellence, this is because many painters, writers, poets took refuge in the sector during the period of military dictatorship; the poet Pablo Neruda installed his home there with Matilde Urrutia. Today, the house where they lived is the Chascona museum, where you can observe elements of the daily life and artistic work of the artist. Among other famous people linked to the arts who lived in the Barrio Bellavista are Camilo Mori, Nemesio Antnez and the painter Orestes Carlini.
Description
The Bellavista neighborhood displays in each one of its streets beautiful styles of the houses built by their wealthy owners. The composition of the houses that line its streets as steep in the Cerro San Cristobal, are characterized by the originality in their designs, the breakaway trend present in the intellectual currents is the most common. Recorrer, Pursma, Santa Filomena, Dardignac, and Loreto, among other streets allow soaking in the life conceived from free thought in Chile.
In fact now the Barrio Bellavista is crowned as one of the sectors where entertainment, nightlife and bohemian governs.
A must is a visit to the home of Pablo Neruda: La Chascona, the Bellavista Terraces shopping center, private dining styles restaurants, fun pubs and of course a visit to the Cerro San Cristobal.