City of Quito in Ecuador

 City of Quito - Ecuadorcaption

Quito, capital of Ecuador, was created in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca-city and State at an altitude of 2,850 meters. Despite the earthquake of 1917, the city has the best preserved historic center in Latin America, least amended. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, and the Church and the Jesuit College of La Compañía, with their rich interiors, are pure examples of the Baroque school of Quito ', which offers a mix of Moorish, Spanish, Italian, Flemish and native art.

Long Description

Quito, capital of Ecuador, forms a harmonious ensemble sui generis, where the actions of man and nature come together to create unique and transcendental works of its kind. With the historic centre and the buildings of the city is an excellent example of the Baroque school of Quito, a mixture of European and indigenous art. The city is located in a small basin in the great central plateau formed by the volcano Pichincha, Puengasi ridge and ridges formed by the foothills of the eastern side of Pichincha. The land on which Quito is built is uneven and is crossed by two deep ravines (quebradas), one of which is curved in large part for the preservation of the alignment of the streets, the discharge of which escapes through a cleft in the ridge northwards to the area of apartments.

Quito 2,850 metres above sea level takes its name from the Quitus, the region populated a long time before the Spanish conquest. In 533 Sebastian Benalcazar peacefully took possession of the native city, which had been successively Seyris and a capital of the Incas, and in 1541 it was elevated to the rank of a Spanish city. His full name was San Francisco del Quito, and it was the capital of the province or the Presidency of Quito down to the end of Spanish colonial rule. It has repeatedly suffered from earthquakes, the biggest damage occurs and 1797 and 1859, but the city has the best preserved and least altered historic centre in Latin America.

The Franciscan order was the first to settle in Quito and immediately started a monastery that became the center of education and art with private schools of painting and sculpture built. The Augustinians, Dominicans and Jesuits then shaped the look of the town with their monasteries. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo Church and the Jesuit College of La Compañía with their rich interiors are pure examples of the so-called ' Baroque school of Quito ', a fusion of Moorish, Spanish, Italian, Flemish and native art. La Compañía is probably the richest Church in South America with its golden altar.

The city is largely laid out in rectangular squares, streets approximately aligned to the cardinal points of the compass. The houses of Quito are mainly built in the old Spanish or Moorish style. The building material in general use is Sun-dried brick, those in the better houses with plaster or stucco. The public buildings are of the heavy Spanish type. Over the principal square are the Cathedral, the Palace of Government, the Bishop's Palace and the city hall. The most beautiful building in the city is the Jesuit church, the façade of which is covered with elaborate carving.

Source:whc/unesco