A beautiful place with a dark history
ECUADOR: Quito’s gold church built with plunder from indigenous people
Ihave never been to the Vatican in Rome, but I have been to the gold church in Quito and my guess is it’s just as beautiful in its own way, if appearances are all that matters.
However, as the saying goes, beauty is only skin deep. There’s more to the story. After all, not everything that glistens is gold.
The real name of the church in Quito, Ecuador, as displayed on a plaque outside the front door, is Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus (The Church of the Society of Jesus).
Construction on Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus began more than 400 years ago. La Compañia, as it is known, is among the best-known tourist attractions in Quito because of its beauty — its large central nave is profusely decorated with gold leaf. Yes, real gold. The church has a dark history. The Incas ruled the Andes until the arrival of the Spanish in 1532. Conquistador Francisco Pizarro first overran Peru, massacring the royal guards and kidnapping the king, who offered a roomful of gold as ransom. After 24 tons of gold were amassed, Pizzaro publicly murdered the king.
Then the conquistadors moved on to Ecuador and the city of Quito. The superiority of Spanish horses and firearms wiped out the Incas. The victors put their cities to the torch and commenced to build their own.
The first group of Jesuit priests arrived in Quito in 1586 to establish a church, a school and a monastery to spread the word of God. The church took 160 years to build, incorporating elements of four architectural styles, with baroque being the most prominent. Its attention to detail is amazing. Paintings and artwork adorn the walls everywhere. Its beauty is breathtaking.
But the church is a composite of beauty and horror, because la Compañia was built of the gold the Spanish stole from the murdered Incas. Much of the empire the Spanish built in South America was from wealth extorted from indigenous people, yet today the visitor to the gold church will find the majority of people worshipping there are natives. The irony is hard to ignore.
To tour the church, I first received official permission from the tourism department, who gave me a guide and an official vest with the word “photographer” emblazoned on the back.
A pipe organ played deep and woeful dirges. The lights were dimmed. I moved slowly up the main aisle, poor peasants praying audibly in the pews.
I marvelled at the artistry and the architectural skill. How could such a masterpiece have been made so long ago, without computers or mechanical instruments? No wonder it took 160 years.
Stepping back outside into sunlight was a shock. There were long lines of poor people waiting patiently to get in, to confess their sins and ask for a better life. Street vendors sold souvenirs to the tourists; hats, blankets, scarves and trinkets.
I confess I had to stop and catch my breath. La Compañia was more than a tourist attraction. Much more.
Michael McCarthy is a freelance writer and owner of mccarthy-travels.com. He was a guest of Visit Quito, who did not read or approve of this story before publication.