!!!Quito
Photos by Max Guzovsky,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

14 November 2018

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The capital of Ecuador named Quito is one of the most ancient cities of
the world with its own extraordinary history. Being located in an
inter-mountainous depression on the eastern slopes of the Pichincha
volcano, this place was inhabited by people 8,000 years BC. Then this
area appealed to the Indian tribe Quitu that is not properly explored by
scientists. It is currently believed that the existence of the Quitu
people spanned from the 5th century BC to the end of the 15th century AD
when they were conquered and integrated into the Inca Empire.

[{Image src='01_Quito.jpg' caption='Quito, Ecuador\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

The modern Quito stands on the site of the ancient trade centre. In
1534, the settlement was seized by Spanish conquistador Sebastián de
Benalcázar who was looking for the "Golden City" of El Dorado in South
America at that time. Seven years later, Quito was declared a city and
on February 23, 1556, was given the title "Very Noble and Loyal City of
San Francisco of Quito" (Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de San Francisco de
Quito).

[{Image src='02_Quito.jpg' caption='Quito, Ecuador\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

As in many other cities colonized by the Spanish, Catholic temples and
monasteries were soon built in Quito. The construction of the Cathedral
of Quito took place between 1545 and 1806, so it combines different
architectural styles — Mudéjar and Gothic. The Basilica of the National
Vow (Basílica del Voto Nacional) once was the largest construction of
this kind in the New World, but it is still an outstanding monument of
the neo-Gothic architectural style. There is also the Church of the
Society of Jesus (La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús), which is a bright
example of Spanish Baroque.

[{Image src='03_Quito.jpg' caption='Quito, Ecuador\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='594'}]

The historical centre of the city has preserved a lot of the
Colonial-period buildings: indeed, it is an open-air historical museum.
There are also many parks and remarkable modern constructions, such as
the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs building, the Parliament building
and the huge Hotel Quito — one of the most capacious hotels in Latin
America. The central square of Quito is located around 25 kilometres to
the south of the equator and the city itself lies one kilometre away
from the zero longitude.

[{Image src='04_Quito.jpg' caption='Quito, Ecuador\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

Quito is considered one of the most elevated capitals in the world —
2,850 metres above sea level. Only the capital of Bolivia, La Paz, is
located closer to the sky — at 3,600 meters. The whole historic centre
of Quito was declared by UNESCO as the World Heritage Site in 1978. We
invite you to observe this exciting city from above!

\\ \\
[4 panoramas of Quito|Geography/America/Ecuador/Pictures/Panoramas]

[{SET customtitle='Quito (AP)'}]











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