Nueva Imperial is a city and commune in the south of Chile. Nueva Imperial is located in a region with abundant natural resources: volcanoes, mountains, rivers, hot springs, valleys, and native forests, which include stands of araucaria trees. Both are navigable by boat and support fishing for trout and other species as well as canoeing and kayaking. What is now the city of Nueva Imperial was founded in by Pedro de Valdivia , the Spanish conquistador , under the name La Imperial.
He intended it to be one of the most important cities in colonial Chile, perhaps even the capital of the country. However, it was destroyed twice by the local indigenous population, the Mapuche. It was totally abandoned in because of the attacks. That same year, Imperial was refounded about 12 miles from the original location and renamed Nueva Imperial New Imperial. Cacique Chief Lemunao was the leader of the people in the area. He sold the land that later became Nueva Imperial to the Spanish.
Today, there is a wooden monument to him on the edge of the city. It stands 6. According to the census of the National Statistics Institute , Nueva Imperial spans an area of 1, Of these, 18, The population grew by It was designed by the architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel. Nueva Imperial is actually made up of two communities, Imperial proper and a village called Villa Almagro , named after another Spanish conquistador, Diego de Almagro , which lies on the other side of the Chol Chol River.
The poet Juvencio Valle , who won the national Chilean prize for literature, was born in Villa Almagro, and his house is still there.
La Araucania was also a source of inspiration for Pablo Neruda , who was raised in the region. Together, the two communities make up a population of about 40, people. Nueva Imperial is also divided by a large hill. From the top of the hill, one can see the volcanoes Villarrica , Llaima , and Lonquimay as well as the surrounding countryside. The community has one of the biggest concentrations of indigenous people in the region.
