Neptune Terraces

The terrace of Neptune

The Santiago audio-guided tour leads you to the terrace of Neptune, facing the monumental fountain of the same name, which adorns the entrance to the hill of Santa Lucia.

The dream of a Frenchified Santiago

Built between 1897 and 1903, the fountain was conceived as the main ornament of the entrance to the Cerro Santa Lucia. The city was then conducting a great campaign of embellishment, and its mayor, Benjamin Vicuña, dreamed of a Santiago with Parisian airs. He hired the French architect Victor Henri Villeneuve to realise a work marking a turning point in the art of the city. The sculpture of Neptune takes up a model created in 1856 by Gabriel Dubray, which had caused a sensation at the International Exhibition of London; the whole was completed by the Chilean artist Benjamin Marambio.

What there is to see

The circular fountain is surmounted by a bronze Neptune and framed by stairs leading to a triumphal arch, in an elegant setting renovated in 2012 for the bicentenary. It is the ideal starting point to begin the ascent of the Cerro Santa Lucia and to enjoy a fine monumental ensemble at the foot of the hill.

Practical information

The terrace of Neptune is at the entrance of the Cerro Santa Lucia, in the centre of Santiago. It is a public space freely accessible, generally during the day; the fountain can be contemplated freely. The ascent of the hill is then made by stairs.

When was the fountain of Neptune built?

Between 1897 and 1903, as the main ornament of the entrance to the Cerro Santa Lucia, at the initiative of mayor Benjamin Vicuña.

What does the terrace of Neptune represent?

A monumental fountain dedicated to the Roman god of the seas, a witness to the dream of a Santiago embellished in the French way at the end of the nineteenth century.