Latin America’s 5 Most Historic Buildings

If you are planning to travel to Latin America, there are several attractions you can’t miss. Today, we will show you the greatest monuments of South America. A little bit of its history and location. Let’s get started with Latin America’s 5 Most Historic Buildings!

South America Landmarks

The architecture of Latin America is made up of different stages. The first is the pre-Columbian stage. That is, all the buildings were built by the native and original cultures of America.
On the other hand, after the conquest of America by the Spanish Empire, the colonialist stage began. In that period we can also find great works of architecture in South America.

Famous landmarks in South America.

Firstly, let’s see the Most Historic Buildings in the first stage:

1. Machu Picchu (Peru). This is, perhaps, the most iconic construction in Latin America. Machu Picchu is the name in the Quechua language (one of the native languages ​​of this region). It belonged to the Inca Empire and is a masterpiece of architecture and engineering. The translation of Machu Picchu is the old mountain. It was a city temple located in the Andes mountain range. This is an absolute must-see in the region. You can’t travel to Latin America without visiting this amazing Historic Building. But train yourself! Because to get to Machu Picchu you must take a walk of… three days! But the view will justify the weariness.

2. Pyramid of the Sun (Mexico). This is one of the largest constructions in Latin America! It was a temple and now it is an archaeological site. The architectural design is very complex. For example, The staircase had 260 steps (currently it has 238), which corresponded to 52 steps for each sun or era, and when we are in the fifth sun, it results in that number of steps. The pyramid is located in Teotihuacan. The meaning of this word is City of the Gods. Around it is other pyramids. However, this is the most important and imposing within the works of architecture in Latin America.

Latin America’s 5 Most Historic Buildings part II

So, let’s continue with the monuments of South America.

3. Tikal (Guatemala). Tikal was an ancient city in Maya Civilization. You can find this beautiful landmark in northern Guatemala, in the middle of a big jungle. The city had multiple buildings for different uses. Temples, palaces, ceremonial platforms, and ball games. The translation of Tikal is a topic of discussion, but it might means ‘water hole’ or ‘place of voices’.

Architecture in South America

Now let’s see some buildings from the colonialist stage.

4. Santa María del Loreto (Chile). This is the oldest wooden church in South America. Many of these churches belonged to the Jesuit missionaries. Is not only defined by the colonialist stage. It also has details of very characteristics of indigenous constructions. If you visit Chiloé Island, you can’t miss this imposing structure.

5. Teatro Amazonas (Brazil). You can describe this place as the “dream” of bringing Europe to the jungle. With marble from Italy, furniture from France, and steel from the UK. In the middle of Manaos Jungle, you can find this architectonic project finished in 1861.

So, if you are planning to travel to South America and visit these monuments, don’t hesitate to contact us and claim your free trial class! See you in the next post!