Central Market

In front of you is the Central Market, Santiago's great food market and one of its best-loved buildings. Look at the roof: under the tiles is an iron skeleton that crossed the ocean.

1Scottish iron for Santiago

The market replaced the old food square, which had burned down in 1864. Work began in 1869, and the central metal structure was cast in Glasgow, in the works of Laidlaw & Sons, then assembled here piece by piece. The project, overseen by Fermín Vivaceta, the same builder as the University of Chile, was completed in 1872.

Its opening coincided with the National Exhibition of Arts and Industries organised by the intendant Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, the great transformer of the city in those years. So the market was born as a showcase, not just a pantry.

2A century and a half of market kitchens

Over time the market filled up with fishmongers, butchers, cheese stalls and, above all, small kitchens serving Chilean seafood dishes. It was declared a Historic Monument in 1984. In 2001 it even became the setting of a soap opera, Amores de mercado.

If you go inside, look up: the wrought-iron structure, with its columns and central lantern, is as much a star as the fish stalls.

3What to look for

• The central turret with its little dome, above the stepped roof.
• The brick arcades running round the building.
• The fish and shellfish stalls, with Pacific species you may never have seen.