City of Quito
Ecuador ·
Description
Quito is Baroque at altitude. At 2,850 meters, its historic center unfolds 40 churches with carved facades and gold-leaf altars where indigenous and Spanish fused worldviews. La Compañía rivals any European temple in opulence. The Virgin of Panecillo watches from the hill, and Pichincha and Cotopaxi volcanoes frame the city among clouds.
Why It's a World Heritage Site
Quito was the first site inscribed on the UNESCO list along with Kraków (1978). Its historic center is Latin America's best preserved and least altered. The 'Quito School' of Baroque art uniquely fused European and indigenous traditions.
UNESCO Criteria
Frequently Asked Questions
For being Latin America's best-preserved colonial center, with Baroque art fusing European and indigenous.
It was one of the first 12 inscriptions in 1978.
Baroque artistic style mixing European techniques with indigenous sensibility; 17th-18th centuries.
At 2,850 m it can affect you; take it easy the first day.
La Compañía: seven tons of gold cover its interior; it's overwhelming.