Ecuador History and Architecture Heritage
With its Tuscan columns and ornate surfaces, both exterior and interior, the 17th Compañia de Jesus is one of the monumental masterpieces of Mannerism in Latin America. The right wall features a memorably vivid, Boschian portrait of Hell detailing excruciating punishments for various sins. Above the lateral doorjambs are symbolic representations of Jesus’ and Mary’s hearts. The Salomonic columns, which rise from its pediment, are decorated by garlands of roses and lilies. The façade is a symphony to the Baroque style and resembles the Gesú church in Rome. At the gate, a screen separates the secular part from the sacred area. It has a set of four columns with Corinthian capitals. La Compañía de Jesús is a dazzling church and considered the most important religious colonial building left by the Spanish.
Although Quito possesses a religious heritage of great value, its impressive civil constructions do not fall behind and contribute to beautify the city. Right across the street from the left side of Compañia is the Banco Central, now a combination library, museum, and performing arts center. This is one of the most impressive testaments to the Neoclassical legacy of the Italian architects and engineers who migrated to Ecuador at the end of the 19th century. From here, at García Moreno, it is an easy walking distance to the City Museum, the Casa de Manuela Cañizares, as well as the large public courtyards, the Plaza Grande, the Plaza de Independencia, and the Plaza Teatral. Access to most of these places is free, or very cheap and usually costs under four dollars.
One of the Old Town’s most imposing and historic buildings is the Presidential Palace also known as the Palacio de Carondelet. The white stuccoed, perfectly symmetrical palace, fronted by a long row of columns supporting an upper balcony runs the length of the western side of Plaza de la Independencia. The balconies that protrude over the paved plaza in fact originally hail from the Palace of the Tuilleries in Paris. They were a gift from the French government after the French Revolution.
Heading south on García Moreno takes one into the southern edge of the historical district, La Ronda, a beautiful and pedestrian-only curved street that has preserved the character of 19th century Quito. Up until the 1930's it was Ecuador's own "La Bohème," a home to poets and prostitutes. Today, La Ronda has been returned to its former independence-era glory, with galleries, cafés, restaurants, artisans and shops now occupying the street. It has been transformed from a red-light district into a tourist district, with local residents and local businesspeople taking up the challenge of making what ranks as one of the Old Town’s prettiest streets into a beacon for tourism in the capital.
A little more to the south there is a hill known as "El Panecillo”. In 1976 the Spanish artist Augustín de la Herrán Matorras built a giant monument to the Virgin of Quito, which now stands on the top of the hill, dominating the central and southern part of the city and providing a reference point from many of its quarters. The Virgen de Quito statue is 45m (148 ft.) high and is an enlarged copy of Bernardo de Legarda's La Virgen de Quito sculpture that is on display on the main altar in the San Francisco church. The statue is made up of some 7,000 pieces of aluminum. One can climb up inside the statue for even more of a bird’s-eye view of the city.
Another impressive construction located in the city of Quito is la “Capilla del Hombre. The dreamlike creation of Guayasamin, is his tribute to the American pre-Columbian, who for over five hundred years has suffered his repression quietly and today still struggles to revive his values. A brick structure inspired by an Inca temple and topped with a copper-plated dome, one enters the two-floored chapel through a tunnel that plays on effects of the light.
Guayaquil
The city of Guayaquil has been embellished with the construction of majestic sites, with architectural works of great quality and with the improvement of traditional sites. In downtown Guayaquil, the new and extended boardwalk known as the Malecón is popular with locals and tourists for itself and its restaurants, galleries, public art, and live performances. The Malecon is divided into three sections. In the northern section, are the Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art and the Maritime and Naval Museum. The center section is where the monument La Ronda is located. It is the biggest monument and the most emblematic of the city as it commemorates the meeting between the liberators Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. In the southern section is located the Palacio de Cristal, one of he most attractive constructions of El Malecon.Downtown also features the impressive Palacio Municipal and surrounding buildings, most of which were designed by the Neoclassical architect, Francesco Maccaferri. The Palacio Municipal is a renaissance construction and it is where the municipality of the city operates. The site was inaugurated in 1929 and today art exhibits and cultural events take place in its facilities.
The Catedral Metropolitana with an elegant and stately facade is also located in the downtown of Guayaquil. The church has beautiful arches, a central rose window, and two tall neogothic style towers. The interior of the church features its eye-catching stained glass windows elaborated by hand by Cuencan artists and its beautiful Italian marble floors. The church was built ten years after the founding of the city but its structures were greatly damaged by the destructive actions of pirates. The church was remodelled in 1937 and later in 1978, changes that have given the church a modern spin.
La Iglesia de La Merced is the first architectural manifestation of the order of the mercedarios. It was built in the year 1785, when the members of the religious order established the city. Unfortunately, there are no remains from this time period due to a fire that occurred in 1896. Years later, in 1962, the construction of the church and convent that exist today began. The church was built in a gothic style.
Cuenca
Cuenca is a city with history in which pre-hiispanic, colonial, republican, and modern architectures coexist. One of the most important heritage buildings in Cuenca is the Municipio or Mayor's Office. It was built in Cuenca, in the characteristic neoclassical style of the beginning of the twentieth century. It operated as the Banco del Azuay until 1999, when the Illustrious Municipality of Cuenca purchased the building, restored and adapted it for the operation of the Mayor's offices and its immediate departments. Its ground floor is generally used for art exhibitions. It is on Bolívar and Borrero Streets.Additionally the Chaguarchimbana House is one of the most important constructions in Cuenca. At the end of the nineteenth century, Chaguarchimbana was one of the most elegant mansions of the region. This luxurious farm house belonged to Mrs. Florencia Astudillo. It has wide corridors, a vantage point and murals that decorate the front façade. It was restored in 1992 and the Paul Rivet Foundation operates in this place currently. The Justice Court Building is an imposing building was made for the State University of Cuenca. It was designed with a wide central patio surrounded by four floors in which are the rooms that once were classrooms. The judiciary department bought this building in 1949. It is on Sucre and Luis Cordero Streets.
The Temperance House was named so because it was a place for the recovery of alcoholics. It presents the typical characteristics of the Ibero-American architecture with high ceilings and long corridors made of brick. The Central Bank restored this building in 1979 and in 1982 the Modern Art Museum was founded in this place. It is on Sucre Street n. 15-44 and Miguel Heredia Street.
The Benigno Malo High School constitutes one of the greatest republican buildings of neoclassical style in the city up to this day. At first a school of the Jesuit Priests was here. Today the Benigno Malo Public High School functions in this building. It is on Fray Vicente Solano Avenue and Daniel Córdova Street.
The Cathedral of the Inmaculada Concepción is the biggest structure in the historical center of Cuenca. Its façade stands out since it is built in red marble and completed with brick. In its construction style the Renaissance eclectics are blended for their form in "H". This is very evident, and it also has Gothic touches which stand out mainly by the circular window works that adorn its enormous façade. Its great size prevails and it stands out visibly in the pleasant atmosphere of the "Abdón Calderón" Park. The church has three domes which almost reach 50 meters high. The three pavilions inside its structure can hold more than 10.000 people. Inside the church some attractive objects can be admired such as "the Rosette" that is an enormous window work, in round form, in the front of the church; the baldachin that constitutes the main feature inside the church is constituted of wooden art bathed on gold leaf. The main imposing altar is covered with an enormous marble work, of 4 meters long, which rests on 12 columns worked in brass. This church was completed in 1967 as part of the "New Cathedral" as people recognize it.
