Compañía de Jesús - Quito, Ecuador
Posted by: 
Metro2
S 00° 13.230 W 078° 30.908
17M E 776589 N 9975605
This Church, known as the Church of the Society of Jesus in English, was completed in 1765.
Waymark Code: WMRE94
Location: Ecuador
Date Posted: 06/17/2016
Views: 3
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"The Church of the Society of Jesus (Spanish: La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús), known colloquially as la Compañía, is a Jesuit church in Quito, Ecuador. It is among the best-known churches in Quito because of its large central nave, which is profusely decorated with gold leaf, gilded plaster and wood carvings. Inspired by two Roman Jesuit churches — the Chiesa del Gesù (1580) and the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola (1650) — la Compañía is one of the most significant works of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. It is Quito's most ornate church and (according to some observers) the country's most beautiful...
History
Construction
The first group of Jesuit priests arrived in Quito on 19 July 1586, in order to establish a church, a school and a monastery. Among this group were Juan de Hinojosa, Diego González Holguín, Baltasar de Piñas and Juan de Santiago. Most sites for the construction of churches had been granted by the city council to the Franciscans, the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, the Augustinians and the Dominicans. However, in 1587 the council granted land to the Jesuit order at the northwest corner of Plaza Grande (now Independence Square). When the Augustinians showed their displeasure with the decision, the Jesuits chose to settle in another lot located southwest of the Cathedral and Plaza.
Nicolás Duran Mastrilli, a Jesuit priest from the Province of Naples, Italy, was appointed rector of the Jesuit College of Quito in 1602. Upon his arrival from Rome, he brought with him plans for the new Church of the Society of Jesus to be constructed in Quito. The plans for the church have been attributed to Domenico Zampieri, who also served as architect for the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola in Rome.
Construction began in 1605, with Mastrilli laying the first stone. The next documented architect was Gil de Madrigal, a Jesuit brother who arrived in Quito in 1634. The work gained momentum in 1636 with the arrival of Marcos Guerra, an Italian Jesuit priest who was also an architect and sculptor. The building was not completed until 1765."