Santiago is the capital of Chile. Most of the economic, administrative, cultural, commercial, industrial and political activities of the country are concentrated here. It was founded by Pedro de Vadivia on February 14th in 1541 in the Río Mapocho Valley at the foothills of the Santa Lucia hill.

It is located in the Central Valley, between the Cordillera de la Costa and Cordillera de los Andes. The overwhelming presence of mountains in the valley are represented by San Cristobal and Santa Lucia hills.

The climate of this area is mediterranean, warm, with regular temperature variations between summer and winter. Rain occurs mainly between March and September (autumn and winter), and very scarcely in summer. The annual average temperature is 14º Celsius. The average is 9º Celsius in winter and it is 22º Celsius in summer, although sometimes it may be higher than 30º during this season.

Santiago city has urban developments of cultural importance like La Casa Colorada (1769), the Puente de Calicanto (1780), the Palacio de la Moneda (1805), the Alameda de Las Delicias (1820), the Cementerio General and the Congreso Nacional building (1875).