Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, Quito

Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco
Church and Plaza de San Francisco
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Province	Archdiocese of Quito
Rite	Roman Rite
Location
Location	Quito, Ecuador
Geographic coordinates	0°13′13″S 78°30′56″W / 0.22028°S 78.51556°W / -0.22028; -78.51556
Architecture
Type	Basilica and Convent
Groundbreaking	1535
Completed	1650
Direction of façade	Southeast

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco (Spanish: Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco), commonly known as el San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the historic center of Quito, in front of the square of the same name. It is the oldest and most significant religious site in Ecuador.^[1] The structure is the largest architectural complex within the historic centers of all of South America, and for this reason it was known as "El Escorial of the New World".^[2] San Francisco is considered a jewel of continental architecture for its mixture of different styles combined throughout more than 150 years of construction. San Francisco is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Quito".

On its three and a half hectares of surface, thirteen cloisters have been built (six of them of great magnitude), three temples, a large Atrium, adding approximately 40,000 square meters of construction. Multiple activities are currently carried out there: conventual and religious, public care in the areas of health, communication, education and others of a popular nature that keep the building active.

Inside the church there are more than 3,500 works of colonial art, of multiple artistic manifestations and varied techniques, especially those corresponding to the Colonial Quito School of Art, which was born precisely in this place. It also has a Franciscan library, described in the 17th century as the best in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The complex is preceded by the Plaza de San Francisco that for years supplied the city with water from its central fountain, and which has functioned as a popular market, as a space for military and political concentrations, and as a meeting place and social recreation. The concave-convex staircase that connects the square with the Atrium, which highlights the Mannerist-Baroque facade of the main building, is considered of great architectural importance in the Colonial Americas.