Villa Grimaldi in Chile

Written by Paige, Nicaragua, December 2012

RECOMMENDATION Keywords:
Cultural Experience, Good Place to Relax, Museum

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Comment from Paige

Once a lovely old mansion sprawling in the hills of the posh Penalolen neighborhood on the outskirts of Santiago, the melodically named Villa Grimaldi became much more after September 11, 1973. Almost from the moment of US-backed dictator Augusto Pinochet’s bloody coup, overthrowing the government of Chile, Villa Grimaldi was transformed into a detention center infamous for the brutal torture of at least 4,500 political prisoners.

Today, the Villa Grimaldi Park of Peace is a tourist attraction, in a sense. Those interested in the dark underbelly of Pinochet’s reign—often lauded for economic growth under the neo liberal auspices of active supporters like economist Milton Friedman and diplomat Henry Kissinger—come here on tours geared to the politically and historically astute traveler.

Editor’s Note: This recommendation was taken from our Chile Things to Do blog. Visit the original post to continue reading the full post and to learn more about things to do in Chile.

Photo courtesy of "Carolonline" via Flickr.

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