Valparaíso was born out of the sea. Its history is that of all men who struggle with two loves —the land and the sea— and for this reason, to get to know Valparaíso, one has to use its historic funiculars and explore its hills on foot.
The city of Valparaíso, on the Pacific coast 115 km from Santiago, 33º2'12" south and 71º37'25" west, is Chile's main port. It was originally inhabited by the indigenous tribe of Changos, who built their seagoing craft with the hides of seals and lived on fish and shellfish. From the time of its discovery by the Spanish Conquistador Juan de Saavedra in 1536, Valparaíso has developed thriving activities always linked to the sea, seafarers and their historic journeys, artists and commercial shipping.
For the city of Valparaíso, time has been a witness to the passing of corsairs and English and Dutch pirates during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries; to the preparations for sailing and victorious return from glorious naval combat of her ships led by Lord Cochrane at the end of the Spanish Colonial period; to the transformation of the Bay of Valparaíso into the base for the naval fleet since 1818; to cultural development, including the founding of the El Mercurio de Valparaíso newspaper in 1827, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the world, and of her universities; to the rise in teeming commercial activity, which transformed it into the main port on the Pacific coast up until its decline with the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914; to the warm reception of varied immigrant communities, mainly of European origin, who were fleeing war, poverty and religious persecution, and which is reflected in her unique XIXth century architectural style; to its affirmation as a permanent refuge for poets and dreamers of all the arts, with Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda, both Nobel Laureates for literature, being the most distinguished amongst them; to the establishment of its Open Air Museum, with murals by famous Chilean artists; to the growth of those stately palms which welcome from afar; to its special landscape which joins together at least 45 hills by means of the incessant working of its fifteen funiculars; of its recent attempt to lead and reactivate maritime commerce with the World Market and to its challenge to keep abreast with the times on being designated the seat of the Legislative body of the country.
Valparaíso has merits to spare to face the XXIst century with renewed vitality in a magical combination of modern city-port and World Cultural Heritage city.