- Work schedule: Mon.-Sat. from 9:00 to 17:30, Sun. from 9:00 to 12:00;
- Address: Cuencas y Sucre 477, Quito, Ecuador;
- Phone: +593 2-228-1124;
- Admission: free of charge.
The San Francisco monastery is part of a large religious complex in the old colonial center of Quito . It is considered one of the most interesting historical and cultural sights of the capital of Ecuador .
From the history of the monastery
The first priests, who set foot in Ecuador in 1534, were Catholic Franciscan monks. As soon as there was a ringing of weapons in the streets of Quito and clashes between the Indian groups and the Spaniards ceased, they began to build a church and a monastery. By 1546 the construction of the monastery and the adjoining farm buildings was completed. It had all the features of a typical European medieval monastery: a quadrangular courtyard with galleries, a refectory, its winery. The Franciscans were some kind of enlighteners: they created their own school of sculpture and painting and recruited Mexicans and Indians, taught them embroidery, stonework, drawing and weaving. It was from this school that the most famous architects, sculptors and artists, who brought fame to the South American art of the 16th-19th centuries, came out. In the future, on the basis of this school was opened art college of Saint-Andres. Periodically occurring in the country, natural disasters destroyed the monastic complex, but hardworking monks invariably restored the monastery.
The monastery of San Francisco today
Since the monastery is the oldest in Ecuador , in 1963 Pope John XXIII awarded him the status of the Little Basilica. Today the monastery complex functions as a major religious and cultural center of South America, receiving about 1 million visitors a year. On the territory of the monastery is a cognitive historical museum, which houses a collection of sculptures of the XVII XVIII centuries, many icons, frescoes, paintings by famous Ecuadorian and foreign artists. The preservation of the monastic complex is important for the world community, therefore UNESCO successfully implements projects on its restoration and attraction of tourists. The area and all the space in front of the Cathedral and the San Francisco monastery look very beautiful and harmonious from any angle. This is one of the most spectacular and visited places in Quito . It is especially magical here in the evening, when the bell towers of St. Francis are illuminated with different colors and are almost transformed beyond recognition.
How to get there?
Public transport to the stop Plaza of Independence (Plaza Geande).
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