Basílica del Voto Nacional
Neo-Gothic basilica above Quito whose gargoyles take the form of Ecuadorian animals; towers can be climbed.
The basilica was proposed in the 1880s as a national act of dedication to the Sacred Heart, and the French architect Emilio Tarlier drew the plans, taking Notre-Dame de Paris and other French Gothic churches as his models. The first stone was laid in 1892 and building continued in stone quarried nearby for more than a century. Pope John Paul II blessed the church in 1985 and it was consecrated in 1988, although by tradition it is still spoken of as unfinished.
The exterior is the most striking feature: instead of the usual grotesques, the waterspouts and carved heads take the form of Ecuadorian animals, among them iguanas, giant tortoises from the Galápagos, armadillos, caimans, monkeys, condors and blue-footed boobies. Visitors can climb internal stairs and a short ladder to reach galleries between the twin western towers, which rise about 115 metres, and a further viewpoint in the clock tower, giving wide views across the historic centre towards the Panecillo and the Pichincha volcano.
Highlights
- Gargoyles carved as Ecuadorian animals, including Galápagos tortoises
- Climb between the twin west towers, around 115 metres high
- Views over the historic centre, the Panecillo and Pichincha
- Begun in 1892 to designs by the French architect Emilio Tarlier
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