First edition, limited to 2,000 copies.
N.B.: The text is in Spanish.
Although not indicated in any way, this book was purchased from the Vermont estate of the great Chilean concert pianist Claudio Arrau.
The author, Father Gabriel Guarda, is regarded as a pioneer in the field of urban history studies in Chile. Following the release of his work "Historia de Valdivia: 1552-1952", he went on to publish numerous articles and papers on colonial urban planning which culminated in his publication of "Historia Urbana del Reino de Chile".
"A quarter century of ransacking archives and libraries and the steady enlargement of the theme through writing and reflection underpin this truly remarkable study of the cities of colonial Chile by Gabriel Guarda. His previous, well-known inquiries into the origins and Spanish use of the grid plan for urban layout, the historical and archaeological examination of the cities abandoned after the great Araucanian uprising of 1598, and the surge in urban development of the eighteenth century are all incorporated into a monumental study. Through the lenses of its cities in what was a colony arranged around cities, the entire social and economic history of colonial Chile is given new focus and vision." .. "Guarda's analysis and exposition are of a thoroughness and subtlety that one hopes for in a work so long in design and execution. He examines the types of streets, squares, roads, building lots, and the buildings erected thereon, finding one set of stone and adobe in the center, and a unique adaptation to the colder climate and readily available supply of lumber in the south. His discussion of urban layout is based, town by town, upon plans and the results of archaeological excavations for the southern cities, even to the Dutch report of 1643.." [Quoted from Woodrow Borah's article in the "Hispanic American Historical Review" (1981)].
RARE. Very good .
Keywords: ARCHITECTURE; ARCHAEOLOGY; HISTORY; HISTORIA URBANA DEL REINO DE CHILE; URBAN HISTORY; SANTIAGO, CHILE; GABRIEL GUARDA O.S.B.; ILLUSTRATED; ILLUSTRATIONS; URBAN PLANNING; TWENTIETH CENTURY; 20TH CENTURY; FIRST EDITION; 1ST EDITION; LIMITED EDITION; PIANIS