El Sagrario church
 El
Sagrario was built next to the Cathedral church, on huge series of
archways that served to bridge a small runnel in the surface of the
land. The facade was cumpleted in 1706 the overall construction in
1715, and the interior decoration between 1731and 1747.
No one knows exactly who drew up the plans. But
Legarda the gilder Cristobal Gualoto and the painter Francisco Alban
all played an important part in the decoration of the finished
building. Gabriel de Escorza Escalante was
responsable for the front, and used the same neo-classical order that
had gone into the building of San Agustín a few years earlier.
There are three lines of Ionic columns at the first
level, with three Corinthian ones above to balance them: these frame
the door, the great central window and the bell-tower that divides the
front of the building in two.
The screen by Legarda is a masterpiece, one of the
finest examples of Quito baroque style. The shafts of the columns are
richly decorated, with a controlled exuberance of color and form. The
central vault leads up to superb dome, covered with frescos
representing biblical scenes with archangels, painted by Francisco
Alban Legarda gilded the high altar-piece. Of the other altar-pieces,
the most important is that of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,
constructed on different levels, with niches and columns in the form
of torches. |
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One of the altar-pieces in the Gospel nave has been
attributed to Gaspar Sangurima. |
