Casa de Gabriela Mistral, Las Compañías, Historic house in Las Compañías, La Serena, Chile

Casa de Gabriela Mistral is a two-story adobe house with a rectangular footprint and a simple facade. An exterior staircase rises above the front, and the second floor incorporates wooden elements. Local tradition holds that English and American carpenters built it, following a construction system common in 19th-century Chile.

The building was constructed in the mid-1800s as a private residence for an established family in La Serena. Its historical importance grew between 1903 and 1907 when it became the setting for the early creative work of a young woman who would gain worldwide recognition later.

At 14, Lucila Godoy Alcayaga taught as an assistant at the local school in Las Compañías while publishing her first poems and comments in regional papers such as «El Coquimbo», «Penumbras de La Serena» and «La Voz de Elqui de Vicuña». It was in this house that she first used the pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, the name she kept throughout her literary career.

The house is located in a residential quarter of La Serena and can be reached on foot without difficulty. Check ahead before visiting as opening times may vary, and guided tours or additional information can be arranged by contacting the site directly.

The house was declared a National Monument in 2008, and its administration passed to the University of La Serena. On the same plot, the Centro Mistraliano de Documentación e Investigación was built, run by the university's Faculty of Humanities to manage bibliographic material about the Nobel laureate. The restoration, commissioned by the Ministry of Public Works with a budget of 562,078,000 pesos, was completed in 2025.