Heritage with Related Tags
Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works
The Humberstone and Santa Laura sites contain more than 200 former saltpeter plants, where workers from Chile, Peru and Bolivia lived in company towns and formed a unique Pampino community culture. This culture is reflected in their rich language, creativity, solidarity and, most importantly, in their groundbreaking struggle for social justice, which has had a profound impact on social history. Located in a remote area of the Pampas, one of the driest deserts on Earth, thousands of Pampinos lived and worked in this harsh environment for more than 60 years from 1880, processing the world's largest saltpeter deposits to produce sodium nitrate fertilizer, which transformed agricultural lands in North America, South America and Europe and brought great wealth to Chile. Due to the fragility of the buildings and the impact of recent earthquakes, the site has also been included in the List of World Heritage in Danger to help mobilize resources for its conservation.
The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida
The Church of Atlántida with its bell tower and underground baptistery is located at the Atlántida railway station, 45 km from Montevideo. Inaugurated in 1960, this modern church complex is inspired by ancient Christian and medieval religious architecture in Italy and represents an innovative use of exposed and reinforced brick. Built on a rectangular plan with a single hall, the church has distinctive wavy walls supporting an equally wavy roof composed of a series of reinforced brick Gaussian vaults designed by Eladio Dieste (1917-2000). The cylindrical bell tower, built with openwork exposed brick, rises from the ground and is located on the right side of the main facade of the church, while the underground baptistery is located on the left side of the forecourt, accessible from a triangular prism-shaped entrance and illuminated by a central oculus. The church is an outstanding example of the excellence of modern architecture in Latin America in terms of form and space achieved in the second half of the 20th century, reflecting the quest for social equality, saving resources, satisfying structural requirements and having an excellent aesthetic effect.
Robben Island
Robben Island was used as a prison, a hospital for socially deprived groups and a military base between the 17th and 20th centuries. The island's architecture, especially that of the late 20th century, such as the maximum security prison for political prisoners, bears witness to the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism.