Quito, formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador, and at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,800 meters above sea level), it is the second highest official capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. Furthermore, in the convent of La Merced, In 1622 they inaugurated the University of San Gregorio, in the building attached to the church and which today constitutes the Centro Cultural Metropolitano, with the authorization of Pope Gregory XV, King Philip III of Spain and the authorities of the Audiencia. There are many notable ingenios, and the professors and teachers that the Company has in it are so great that they could be professors at Alcal". The curved steps leading up to the main entrance were originally designed for the Belvedere of the Vatican before the plans were utilized instead for this structure. For its part, San Francisco Square has historically On the other hand, with the installation of new dependencies (museum, printing office, theater, radio, private educational establishment) there was a functional readjustment of its spatial structure that, gradually, became more public. Construction of this 6 Stories of Aliens and the Unexplained That Are Just Out of This World, http://fundacioniglesiadelacompania.org.ec/portal/m/informacion, http://www.lageoguia.org/iglesia-de-la-compania-de-jesus-quito-ecuador/#19/-0.22070/-78.51391, https://iglesiacompaniadejesus.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/iglesias-de-la-compania-de-jesus-quito/, http://www.patrimonio.quito.gob.ec/index.php/patrimonio-cultural/patrimonio-material/novedades/247-la-compania-de-jesus-de-quito. century. Above this last body is the final cornice that serves as an impost for the interrupted double pediment, within which a group of angels holds a huge crown in their hands. You can The Jesuit Order arrived in the city of Quito on July 19, 1586, with the purpose of establishing a church, a college and a monastery in this city. It is, then, The Compaa of Quito, the National Sanctuary of Mariana de Jess, declared in 1946, by the National Constituent Assembly, as a National Heroine.[7]. It has a transept and three naves without galleries along the chapels: the central one, which is high and covered with a barrel vault, and the lateral ones, which are low and covered with domes. The San Agustn complex is made up not only of the church but also of the convent, the Miguel de Santiago Museum, and the Chapterhouse (where the cry of Independence, the first on the continent, was ratified on August 10, 1809). The parapet is a grid of large serpentine rosettes separated from each other by polychrome statuettes representing naked children, limited in its lower part by an arabesque meander and in the upper part, by a double cornice. and the sightseeing tours are every day from 09.00 am 4.30 pm. The historic city of Quito, Ecuador, is remarkable for its many beautiful churches, especially the 17th Jesuit church la Compaa, and the 16th century Monastery of St. Francis. However, in 1538, after successive adjudications by the same Cabildo, an area of more than three hectares was reached. Other notable elements include symbols of the Sun on the main door to the church and the ceiling. There is no space in these altarpieces, no matter how small, that is not covered with ornamental work; the very interior of the niches is an emporium of foliage; the entablatures, a set of moldings enhanced with pearl fillets, eggs, flowers, darts, gallons, garlands and a thousand filigrees; Solomonic columns, a pure lattice of grape shoots and, some of them, bird handles. Located in Ecuador, South America, Quito is situated in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha Volcano, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. Fundacin Museos de la Ciudad, The prophets that Gorbar painted are the following: Father J. M. Vargas reinforces this opinion with authoritative words: "Gorbar knew the human soul very well and knew how to represent it in the various manifestations that determine age and social status. The Iglesia de la Compaa de Jess is located along Garca Moreno and Sucre in the historic center of Quito, one block to the southwest of Plaza Grande. At the top of the niche, another smaller pediment contains the Holy Spirit in his dove symbol. The shaft of the Solomonic columns of the second body of the altarpiece has six spirals, which indicates a strict observance of the precepts, then brand new, of Viola; on the other hand, that of the first body has seven, if the striated ones are to be counted.9. See tickets Independencia, also known as Plaza Grande. During the 16th century, religious orders were busy building churches in the newly founded city of Quito. Jess, the first Ecuadorian saint. historical centre, opposite a square of the same name. Being established that the costs of ornamentation of the chapel would be borne by its patron, these had been entrusted to Quitoan Friar Antonio Rodrguez.[2]. The problem with the acquired land is that it was crossed by the Zangua ravine, which descended from the Pichincha volcano and crossed behind the Quito Cathedral, so priest Marcos Guerra[1] built several brick arches on it, in such a way that the ground remain at the same level and later the buildings of the College, the University, the residence of the Fathers, the House of the Students, the Hospital for the Elderly and the Procurement Center of the Mainas Missions in the Amazon could be raised without major problems. cultural and artistic wealth that the historical center of the city holds. You can walk around inside its The Jess del Gran Poder is the main icon of one of the two largest religious processions on Good Friday in Ecuador, which brings together popular strata, in an act of curucuhos and penitents, in the purest medieval style, evoking the Spanish Seville. The colonial churches in Quito always amaze me with their attention to detail. The plan of the church of La Compaa de Quito, commonly compared with that of the Church of the Ges, in Rome,[6] is that of a Latin cross inscribed in a rectangle, typical of the second stage of the Renaissance. When it began to rise, they wanted to make it of stone and brick, only in 1735 did they change the design to wood, with the guidelines of the Jesuit brother Jorge Vinterer, of German origin and whose carving took ten years (1735-1745). The most famous of these works are the 16 Prophets by Nicols Javier de Gorbar, sculptures of the Holy Trinity by Bernardo de Legarda, and paintings depicting Hell and the Final Judgment at each side of the main entrance. It is the oldest catholic church in Ecuador founded on August 15, 1534 built by the Spaniards in colonial style. The complex is made up of the church, the convent (the museum is inside) and the Virgen del Rosario Chapel, which are located on Flores Street, in front of Santo Domingo Square. In the same way, the side doors are flanked by two Roman-Corinthian style pillars, all of them placed on a paneled stylobate with Renaissance decoration. Quito Markets ParksMuseums Recommended attractions Quito Tour Bus RouteAnd more. The dome that covers the presbytery is decorated with stucco. This is flanked by very rich pilasters whose capital has a single row of acanthus leaves (the upper one), decorated and composed in the way that French goldsmiths and cabinetmakers of the 18th century composed and decorated furniture and precious objects; that is, with horizontal grooves and large mirrors decorated in its center. The oldest of all of Quito's churches - and indeed, the oldest in Ecuador - the Church and Monastery of San Francisco began construction in 1534 and continued for 150 years. [1] The structure is the largest architectural complex within the historic centers of all of South America, and for this reason it was known as "El Escorial of the New World". The large paintings represent the 16 biblical prophets; they have their own psychological features, appropriate clothing of great perfection, with landscapes in the lower part, while in the upper corners scenes alluding to the prophecy of each one about the announced Messiah are represented. architecture, are located on Cuenca 477 and Sucre streets. From an aesthetic point of view, the Chapel of Cantua is a small church with a single vaulted nave, with projecting ribs and lunettes. .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}01315S 783050W / 0.22083S 78.51389W / -0.22083; -78.51389. and from Calle de las Siete Cruces (today Garca Moreno) to the east to the current Calle Benalczar to the west. Quito has a great number of majestic churches in its historical center. The pilasters of the arcade bear, as an integral part of their decoration and attached to the wall, one of the richest jewels of Quitoan painting, The Sixteen Prophets, work of the great master Nicols de Gorbar, an artist who flourished in the second half of the 17th century. The church was finally completed 160 years later, and is now considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. church and convent are Catholic buildings located in the middle of Quitos Almost all the prophets dialogue with the spectator and indicate with their finger the reason for their prophecy". the Basilica of the National Vow in our article. The Iglesia de San Francisco is a massive baroque church in the historic Old Town of Quito, Ecuador. Fundacin Museos de la Ciudad, religious complex began in the 16th century and was completed in the 17th At the two ends of the transept rise the twin altarpieces, of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Francis Xavier, of enormous size and exquisite Baroque workmanship. the Dominican friars, began being built in 1540 and was completed in 1688. Another of the styles that the church has is the Mudjar, which is characterized by the geometric figures that can be seen on the pillars. At its base, there's a caf, restaurant, and artesian shop overseen by the fair-trade Tianguez foundation. The Brotherhood of Veracruz de Naturales enthroned on the main altarpiece the beautiful sculpture of Saint Luke the Evangelist that Father Carlos had carved, considered one of the most beautiful in polychrome wood that the imagery of the Colonial Quito School of Art has given, and that can still be seen on its altar. These are dedicated, in the north nave, to Saint Joseph, The Calvary and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga; while in the south nave to Virgin of Loreto, the Immaculate Conception and Saint Stanislaus Kostka. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The brotherhoods of Veracruz became infatuated with turning the chapel into an authentic reliquary of unique jewels, so the art collection that it housed since its inception, including oil paintings, frescoes and sculptures, they have given it fame as one of the most exquisite on the Americas and the name of the "Sistine Chapel of America" by the Ecuadorians of the time. The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco ( Spanish: Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco ), commonly known as el San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the historic center of Quito, in front of the square of the same name. Inside the church there are more than 3,500 works of colonial art, of multiple artistic manifestations and varied techniques, especially those corresponding to the Colonial Quito School of Art, which was born precisely in this place. The concave-convex staircase that connects the square with the Atrium, which highlights the Mannerist-Baroque facade of the main building, is considered of great architectural importance in the Colonial Americas. convent of San Francisco de Quito, two great examples of American colonial It was visited by Pope John Paul II, who presided over a mass in the church on January 30, 1985, within the framework of his three-day visit to Ecuador. Each Jesuit portrait rests on a cherub's head, and above the circle that forms the whole, runs another, also with winged heads that limit the stucco decoration of the vault. built from 1562 to 1565, and has undergone a series of transformations and The transept, 26.5m wide, boasts an imposing dome 27.6m high and 10.6 in diameter, internally decorated with paintings, ornaments, medallions with figures of archangels and Jesuit cardinals. Over them runs an entablature reminiscent of the first body, and ends the whole in a semicircular tympanum intercut to fit a large modillion in the center, on which the bright bronze Jesuit cross stands out, on the characteristic groyne of the cresting.