IGLESIA Y MONASTERIO DE SAN AGUSTÍN

Behind the heavy wooden doors, covered by an entrance carved in stone, is a superb church dating from the 16th century. Its bays are decorated with paintings by the artist Miguel de Santiago depicting the life of St Augustine and adorned with magnificent and elaborately carved altarpieces. The ceiling is also remarkable. Damaged by successive earthquakes, it has been restored several times. In the chapter house there is a deep crypt. The chair and table were used for the signing of the Act of National Independence on 10 August 1809. Next to it, the monastery is called "the golden convent" for the richness of its decorations. In the centre of the cloister, a fountain is carved out of a single block of stone. The ceiling of the gallery is particularly remarkable. The atrium, carved in the stone brought from Pichincha, is different from the other atriums in the historic centre because it has four steps that go down to the entrance door of the church. The façade is in the purest late Renaissance style called Mannerism, with an architectural superposition of classical Doric orders in the lower part and Ionic in the upper part. The central vault is a gothic cross, reinforced by transverse arches that allow the light to penetrate the interior of the church. An entrance fee is required to access the museum, the chapter house and the exhibition rooms.