The Historic Center of Quito has an unimaginable architectural wealth. It is considered the best preserved historical complex and one of the most important in Latin America.
«Founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an ancient Inca city and perched at 2,850 meters above sea level, the capital of Ecuador has the best preserved and least altered historic center in all of Latin America, despite the earthquake that shook it in 1917. » This is how UNESCO describes this city, declared a World Heritage Site in 1978. Let’s take a tour of the landmarks of its historic center.
Independence Square
(La Plaza Grande)
This square is the political and historical center of Ecuador, and the symbolic seat of the president of Ecuador. Likewise, it is the reference point for the height of the city, located at 2818 m above sea level. n. m.
Its main feature is the Monument dedicated to the heroes of independence that stands in the center. The surroundings of the square are flanked to the west by the Carondelet Palace, to the south by the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito and other relevant buildings.
Metropolitan Cathedral
The Cathedral of Quito, known simply as the Cathedral, is located on the southwest side of Independencia Square.
It is one of the most emblematic buildings in the city and one of the most important cathedrals in South America. Built in 1565, its architectural design is a mix of styles. Above the Plaza Independencia is the entrance of the “Arco de Carondelet” with its characteristic staircase. The main façade of the cathedral features an impressive central tower in neoclassical style, flanked by two smaller towers in baroque style. It also has numerous sculptures and reliefs that adorn its façade. Inside, the cathedral has three naves and several side chapels, all decorated with works of religious art of great historical and artistic value. Highlights include the neo-Gothic style main altar, the chapel of San Pedro with its impressive carved wooden ceiling and the chapel of the Tabernacle with its gold leaf decoration.
Carondelet Palace
It is the seat of the Government and is the nerve center of the square. It was known during the Spanish colony as the Royal Palace of Quito as it was the headquarters of the Royal Court of Quito and the civil and military government of the region. Tradition says that it would have been the liberator Simón Bolívar who called it the Carondelet Palace, amazed by the good taste of Francisco Luis Héctor, baron of Carondelet, who ordered the construction of its façade, whose main element, a colonnade, remains until the present.
San Francisco Square
This square is one of the most representative urban settings of the city since colonial times. It has a rectangular shape, with a length of 115 m and a width of 75 m and is the largest square in the historic center of Quito.
The magnificent concave-convex staircase that connects the Plaza with the Atrium of the church, in which the beautiful Mannerist-baroque façade stands out, is the origin of different American architectural solutions.
Monastery of San Francisco
It is the largest architectural complex within the historical centers of all of America, and for this reason it is known as “the Escorial of the New World”. It is considered a jewel of continental architecture for its mixture of different styles combined over more than 150 years of construction.
The complex includes 13 cloisters, 3 churches, a large Atrium, totaling approximately forty thousand square meters of buildings. Multiple activities are currently carried out there: conventual and religious, public attention in the areas of health, communication, educational and other popular ones.
If you visit it, you will be able to appreciate some of its more than 3,500 works of colonial art, of multiple artistic manifestations and varied techniques, especially from the Quiteña School of art, which was born precisely in this place. You can also read in the magnificent Franciscan library, described in the 17th century as the best in the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Church of the Company of Jesus
The San Ignacio de Loyola church and Compañía de Jesús de Quito convent are known simply as La Compañía. If you are interested in architecture and art, you will not be able to stop admiring this temple that is considered the pinnacle of Latin American baroque and was built by the Jesuits between 1605 and 1765.
Church of Mercy
The Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy is the first church and main headquarters of the Mercedarian Order in the country, and therefore bears the title of Basilica.
The white building has five domes, a square tower and is decorated with Inca and Arab inscriptions. Construction began in 1701 and the basilica was consecrated in 1747. The main altarpiece was carved and built by Bernardo de Legarda. In its sacristy as well as inside the Church, there are several works by the artist Víctor Mideros.
We must mention that it maintains one of the most important historical libraries in the city, both for its content and its state of conservation.
The Basilica of the National Vote
Also called the Consecration of Jesus or the Basilica of San Juan (because of the sector in which it is located), it is a neo-Gothic religious building in the historic center of the city.
Due to its dimensions and style, it is considered the largest neo-Gothic temple in America, in addition to being the tallest religious temple in Latin America. The person responsible for this masterpiece was the Frenchman Emilio Tarlier, who was inspired by the Bourges Cathedral in France. You can visit it and climb the towers of the basilica from which you will see incredible panoramic views of Quito.
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Casa del Alabado
Pre-Columbian Art Museum
It brings together some of the most representative pieces of pre-Columbian art from current Ecuador, offering some interpretations about their artistic and anthropological meaning and providing a significant experience to each visitor.
El Alabado houses around 5,000 archaeological pieces, of which 500 make up the permanent exhibition. Located in a heritage building from the 17th century on Cuenca Street, very close to the Plaza de San Francisco in the Historic Center of Quito. The Museum is organized thematically and not chronologically or geographically, which allows visitors to generate their own visual and cultural connections.
Contemporary Art Center
It is a center that promotes contemporary cultures. It is aimed at sustainable, innovative, socially and environmentally responsible cultural enterprises and operates in what was the Military Hospital, in the San Juan neighborhood.
It is worth visiting and admission is free and it is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
La Estampería Quiteña also operates in the center, which is an intaglio engraving workshop that opened its doors with the purpose of generating spaces for approaching and learning the arts of engraving, and promoting the development and dissemination of graphic art in the country.
The City Museum
It is a space in which the daily history of Quito converges, from its first settlements to the last years of the 19th century.
While the rest of the museums and exhibitions focus on archaeological pieces or collections of works of art from different periods, the City Museum exposes the daily life of Quito, the history of its inhabitants, thus revealing a much richer history than those They offer archaeological pieces or works of art isolated from their context.
Quito is a city that has around 130 monumental buildings of enormous heritage value that are worth visiting.
