Chilotan architecture

Wooden interior of the Church of San Francisco in Castro.

20th century palafitos, at high tide in Castro, Chile.

Chilotan architecture is a unique architectural style that is mainly restricted to the Chiloé Archipelago and neighboring areas of southern Chile. These buildings have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

Chiloé, in part because of its physical isolation from the rest of Chile and access to different materials, has a unique colonial architecture that differs substantially from typical Chilean Spanish colonial architecture.

Spanish colonial churches

The Spanish, who arrived in the 16th century and their Jesuit missionaries who followed, constructed hundreds of small wooden churches as part of the Indian Reductions mandated by the Crown for Spanish colonization of the Americas. The result was a mixing of Catholicism and indigenous Chilean beliefs.

Houses and buildings

Nearly all the houses and buildings in colonial Chiloe were built with wood, and wooden shingles were extensively employed. The roof shingles of Fitzroya came to be used as money and called Real de Alerce. In the late 19th century many palafitos, or stilt houses, were built in cities such as Castro and Chonchi.

See also

• Conquest of Chile
• Captaincy General of Chile
• Plan Serena

External links

• Unesco World Heritage Site - The Churches of Chiloe
• Churches of Chiloe: descriptions and photograph gallery

Chiloé Archipelago
Main islands	Butachauques Chiloé Desertores1 Guafo Lemuy Quinchao San Pedro Tranqui
Water bodies	Gulf of Ancud Estero de Castro Caulín Bay Chacao Channel Sea of Chiloé Gulf of Corcovado Dalcahue Channel
Cities and towns	Ancud Castro Chonchi Curaco de Vélez Dalcahue Puqueldón Queilén Quellón Quemchi Quinchao
History	Colonial alerce logging and trade Governorate of Chiloé Intendancy of Chiloé 1643 Dutch attacks Circular Mission 1712 Huilliche rebellion Caicumeo Battle of Agüi Battle of Mocopulli
Culture	Clothing Chilote cap Chilote poncho Architecture and art Churches of Chiloé Chilote School of Religious Imagery Coastal fortifications Palafito Cuisine Chapalele Chicha de manzana Curanto Licor de oro Lloco Murtado Mate Milcao Potatoes of Chiloé Mythology Basilisco Chilote Caleuche Pincoya Sirena chilota Trauco Trentren Vilu and Caicai Vilu
1: These islands are not part of Chiloé Province

Spanish / Hispanic Colonial architecture
Bigger Historic Centres	Antigua Guatemala Bogotá Buenos Aires Campeche Cartagena de Indias Cienfuegos Coro Cuernavaca Cusco Guanajuato Havana León Los Angeles Lima Manila Mexico City Mompox Montevideo Morelia Oaxaca Old Panama Panama City Puebla Quito San Diego San Juan San Miguel de Allende Santo Domingo St. Augustine Trujillo Vigan
Spanish Missions concentrations	List of Spanish missions
Cathedrals	Argentina Bolivia Chile Costa Rica Colombia Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador Guam Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay The Philippines Peru Puerto Rico United States Arizona California Louisiana San Antonio Uruguay Venezuela
Churches and monateries	Bohol Chiloé Popocatépetl
Fortresses	Caribbean Side of Panama Santo Domingo North American Presidios Spanish Italian Presidi
Bridges and roads	Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Tayabas
Other buildings types	Hacienda Haciendas in the Valley of Ameca Cabildo Colonial universities in Hispanic America Colonial universities in the Philippines Plaza
Architecture types	Baroque Andean Baroque Churrigueresque Earthquake Mexican Colonial Chilotan Monterey Colonial Renaissance Rococo Neoclassical
Modern Revival Style	Spanish Colonial Revival architecture Mission Revival architecture
Category