The best approach to the Palacio de la Moneda is from the northern side of the vast , paved Plaza de la Constitucion, three blocks east and south of the Plaza de Armas. From here you can appreciate the perfect symmetry and compact elegance of this low-lying Neoclassical building, spread across the entire block. The inner coutryards are open to the public; approadch from the north side and stroll through.
It was built between 1784 and 1805 by the celebrated Italian architect Joaquin Toesca for the purpose of housing the royal mint. The role was to be shortlived, however and after some forty years it became the residential palace for the presidents of Chile, starting with Manuel Bulnes in 1848 and ending with Carlos Ibañez del Campo in 1958. At this point it stopped being used as the president{s home, but it continues to be the official seat of government. One ceremony worth watching is the changing of the guard, held in front of the palace at 10am on alternate days. Dozens of green-uniformeed police officers, all remarkeably similar in height, march around the square to the rather jolly Chilean national anthem.
