Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is not only the political and economic heart of the country, but also its cultural center. Let's discover its best museums together
The capital of Ecuador is the second highest capital in the world, with an average altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, and is one of the cities in South America with the highest number of museums and cultural institutions. In Quito, a true network of memories develops which allows you to know and discover every detail of the history and traditions of this incredible reality clinging to the Andes.
The density of museum institutions combined with a very significant cultural liveliness has led the capital ofEcuador to become a much sought-after destination for cultural tourism, which, outside of the classic itineraries of mass tourism, is always in search of the authenticity and culture of a country.
In this guide we will point out some of the best museums and some of the most prestigious cultural institutions not to be missed on a trip to Quito.
National Museum, the largest in the capital and in all of Ecuador, a true treasure chest that preserves the oldest testimonies of the country's history and of the great civilizations that millennia before the arrival of the Spanish had founded a dense network of cities all over the Ecuadorian territory. The main collection of the museum is the archaeological one, showing a huge number of finds from all over the country, spanning a period of almost 10.000 years.
Among the most impressive rooms we can mention the Hall of Gold which collects an incredible quantity of artefacts and gold masks made before the arrival of the conquistadors. The other rooms house a large collection of statues and materials in common use of the indigenous populations and a rich collection of sacred art from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries attributable to the famous Quito school of art. The museum has a wide educational offering for families and children, making it very suitable for a visit with the little ones.
City Museum, housed in a building of great historical and artistic importance, the old hospital of San Juan de Dios built in the mid-1530th century, this museum is the best source for discovering every detail of Quito's history and its urban evolution. In fact, among the rooms you can admire splendid dioramas and models that perfectly reconstruct the main phases that have marked the history of the capital of Ecuador: from a network of villages it was transformed into a central camp and within a few centuries it was became the current metropolis. A permanent exhibition also illustrates the centenary history of the hospital building from its foundation in 1998 until its transformation into a museum in XNUMX.
Man's Chapel, more than a museum, it is a sort of mausoleum of the epic of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador, a secular Sistine Chapel dedicated to peace and human rights created by the artist Oswaldo Guayasamín starting from 1985, but never completed. Inside this structure that combines ancient and futuristic features at the same time, the torch of peace burns without pause. On the walls you can admire splendid murals that tell the heartbreaking story of the indigenous peoples of all of South America, from European colonial domination to a bright future where peace, humanity and unity will reign from Patagonia to Mexico.
Guayasamin Museum, the house-museum of the most important Ecuadorian artist of the 1970th century, Oswaldo Guayasamín, who with his works wanted to represent the struggle of the indigenous populations of South America. In the house today it is possible to admire many works by the master dating back mainly to the period between 1990 and 1999 and the studio where he worked until XNUMX. In addition to the splendid works of art, from the house you can admire a spectacular view over the whole of Quito in the direction of the Pichincha volcano, often included by Guayasamín in his works.
House of Praise, a museum dedicated to pre-Columbian culture with an approach that is not so much historical-archaeological as aesthetic and artistic, to highlight the connections with contemporary Ecuadorian art. The museum is organized by theme and offers the opportunity to admire some of the most beautiful and refined pre-Columbian ceramics from across the country.
Ethnohistorical Museum of Crafts of Ecuador Mindalae. More than a museum, it is a cultural center that allows you to discover in detail the traditional indigenous culture of Ecuador, through objects and artefacts; There are also recordings of popular songs and holidays, where an interesting mix between Spanish Catholicism and ancient Ecuadorian traditions can be observed.
Metropolitan Cultural Center, the most important cultural center of the capital of Ecuador, where you can visit the well-stocked National Library with its comfortable reading rooms, the exhibition hall where photographic and contemporary art exhibitions are often organized and the conference rooms with numerous daily cultural initiatives are the fulcrum of the centre's intellectual liveliness. The Palace where all this is housed is one of the oldest and most elegant in the center of Quito. It was the seat of a Jesuit school, the first University of the city, and of the Escuela de la Concorde, the center where the first Ecuadorian patriots gathered to launch the Primer grito de Independencia, the first act of the fight for independence from Spain.
Museum of Carmen Alto, the museum linked to the Carmen de San José monastery, one of the oldest religious institutions in the capital. In this museum you can visit a very rich collection of sacred works of art and liturgical objects, to discover in detail the life of the nuns who lived in the monastery and the history of religious sentiment in Ecuador. Inside the museum you can also visit the splendid monastery library which contains an extraordinary collection of manuscripts, sixteenth-century prints and documents of great historical importance.
