La Compañía de Jesús

On Calle Sucre, is Ecuador’s most ornate church, La Compañía de Jesús, capped by green-and-gold domes visible from Plaza San Francisco one block away. The marvelously gilded Jesuit church was begun in 1605 and not completed for another 160 years. Free guided tours in English or Spanish highlight the church’s unique features including its Moorish elements, perfect symmetry (right down to the trompe l’oeil staircase at the rear), symbolic elements (bright-red walls a reminder of Christ’s blood) and its syncretism (Ecuadorian plants and indigenous faces hidden along the pillars). Quiteños proudly call it the most beautiful church in the country and it’s easy to see why.