Barraza, Chile, Colonial village near Ovalle, Chile

Barraza is a small settlement near Ovalle that stretches along a main street opening onto a central plaza. Colonial-era houses line the built areas, with farmland and unpaved roads spreading outward from the core.

The lands were granted as a dowry to Captain Antonio Barraza in the mid-17th century, when a small settlement and a temple already existed. In 1680 the parish of San Antonio del Mar was created, with registers beginning in 1681. A river flood destroyed the first temple in 1690, and a new one was built between 1691 and 1712. In 1818 Barraza was declared the head town of Limarí as Villa de San Antonio del Mar.

The settlement takes its name from its 17th-century founder and maintains a rhythm shaped by farming life. People gather regularly at the church and central plaza, where daily routines are still guided by local traditions and customs.

This place is best explored on foot, with simple unpaved roads connecting the main areas and scattered buildings. The central plaza and parish church are easy to locate and serve as natural gathering points.

The church's left side wall holds a door from the late-17th-century first temple, made of Oregon pine with copper nails. Inside, the main altar carries a polychrome image of Saint Anthony of Padua from the mid-18th century, brought from Peru. A small parish museum opened beside the main entrance in the 1990s, showing colonial images, liturgical objects and parish registers begun in 1681.