Museo Fonck

Archaeology and natural history museum with a genuine Easter Island moai outside

The Francisco Fonck Society Museum on Calle 4 Norte is a small but unusually rich collection of pre-Columbian and Mapuche material from across Chile, with a particular focus on Easter Island. The displays include carved tablets, weapons, jewellery, mummified remains, and an extensive Mapuche silver collection.

Outside, in the front garden, stands a genuine moai — one of the only true Easter Island stone heads to be seen on the Chilean mainland. The museum is compact and clearly labelled and is the best starting point in Viña for anyone planning to travel further into Chile's indigenous past.

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The moai standing in the museum's garden is one of only a handful that have ever left Rapa Nui. It was brought to Chile in 1951 on a navy ship and given to the museum, and is the easiest way for most travellers to see a moai without making the four-and-a-half-hour flight to Easter Island.

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