The Virgen of Quito on the Panecillo hill, in Quito, Ecuador


[Previous Page | Index]
0707132106quitoend.jpg

0707132106quitoend.jpg

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)


[Previous Page | Index] See All Free Photos




Visit http://www.TechnologySite.org for free photos and lists of inventions and technology. Visit http://www.ClimateChangeFacts.info for unbiased information about climate change. Visit http://www.ClimateCooling.org for eye-opening biased information on global cooling and climate change and visit http://www.OceanAssoc.com for fisheries and oceans consulting services.

This page last updated January 2015