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El Panecillo is a hill located in the middle west of the city with an altitude of about 9,895 feet (3,016 m) above sea level. The monument to Virgin Mary located on top of El Panecillo is visible from most of the city of Quito. This monument is based on a sculpture made by Bernardo de Legarda in the Spanish Colony time known as 'La Virgen de Quito'. In 1976, the Spanish artist Agustín de la Herrán Matorras was commissioned by the religious order of the Oblates to build a 134½ foot (41 m)-tall aluminum monument of a madonna, which was assembled on a high pedestal on the top of Panecillo. Made of 7,000 pieces of aluminum, the monument was inaugurated on March 28, 1976, by the 11th archbishop of Quito, Pablo Cardinal Munoz Vega.
The figure stands on top of a globe, stepping on a snake (classic madonna
iconography). What is not so traditional, however, is her wings. The
people of Quito proudly claim that she is the only such figure in the
world with wings like those of an angel. The monument was inspired
by the famous "Virgen
de Quito" (Quito's Madonna), also known as "the dancer" sculpted
by Bernardo de Legarda in 1734, which now decorates the main altar at the
Church of St. Francisco. This madonna represents a turning point of the
Quito School of Art (one of the most renowned of the Americas) because
it shows a figure with great movement (practically dancing) as a contrast
with the traditional static madonnas produced during the 18th century.
(Text and map of Ecuador adapted from: Quito (2008). From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia)
This page last updated January 2015
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