Basilica of La Merced

In front of you rises La Merced, an all-white church of domes and whitewashed walls, with the tallest tower of colonial Quito. Outside it's restrained; inside, an explosion of gilding and white plasterwork.

1Three churches on one site

The Mercedarians arrived with the first Spaniards and had a church here from the 16th century. The earth took care of knocking it down: the earthquake of 1645, the tremors from the eruption of Pichincha in 1660 and the quake of 1698 left the second church so damaged that they had to start again. The present one was begun in 1701 to plans by the Quito architect José Jaime Ortiz, the tower was finished in 1736 and the church was consecrated in the mid-18th century.

2The First Neighbour

On the high altar, carved by Bernardo de Legarda, one of the great masters of the Quito School, an old stone image of Our Lady of Mercy is venerated. Quiteños credit her with protecting them from earthquakes and eruptions, and the city council regards her as Quito's “First Neighbour”. Inside there are paintings showing Pichincha erupting above the rooftops of Quito.

A local legend claims that the tower is the only part of the church that was never blessed, and that the devil therefore considers it his own.

The monastery also holds a historic library of about 22,000 volumes, restored in the 1990s with support from the Getty Conservation Institute.

3What to look for

• The tower, completed in 1736.
• The white domes stepping up above the nave.
• The stone doorways, dark against the whitewashed walls.