Remnants of dictatorship

Villa Grimaldi

Villa Grimaldi was a beautiful 3-acre resort and events center located on the foothills of the Andes mountains that was owned by a wealthy businessman. Months after the coup, the military seized the estate and the secret intelligence service DINA set up its headquarters and most infamous secret torture center there. It was used through 1978, although 1975 was the year in which the most prisoners were held there. Some 5,000 prisoners are reported to have passed through Villa Grimaldi. Nearly 20 of them died and another 226 disappeared.

In 1987, with the property still under the control of the secret intelligence service, Villa Grimaldi was sold to a construction company, which promptly began destroying it. In the twilight of dictatorship, the media caught on and public pressure halted the demolition, although most of the buildings had already been destroyed. After the return to civilian rule — and prompted by neighborhood associations and human rights groups — the government re-took the villa. A few years later, a group of architects began designing what would soon become the Park for Peace Villa Grimaldi.

Inaugurated in 1997, the park is open to the general public and offers guided tours to visitors. Some of its installations have been recreated. Numerous cultural and human rights-related events are held there.

(Villa Grimaldi’s main estate before demolition. Courtesy of Pedro Alejandro Matta, from “Villa Grimaldi, a Visitor’s Guide,” by Pedro Alejandro Matta) 

(In the middle of the Park for Peace there is a water fountain that marks where prisoners arrived. Courtesy of Maria Obias)

(The rose garden remained intact as the estate was used as a torture center, and blindfolded prisoners recall smelling roses when taken outside. The garden was destroyed during demolition, but was revived in 2007. Each of the 53 rose plants has a small sign with the name of a woman who died or disappeared during the dictatorship. Courtesy of Maria Obias)

(Three or four prisoners would be held in these sealed punishment cells, which were seven feet high and only three or four feet long. Prisoners had to take turns sitting down or try to breathe from cracks in the wall. Courtesy of Maria Obias)

(Posters with the faces of some of the disappeared near the entrance to the villa. Courtesy of Maria Obias)

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