Plaza de San Francisco, Quito

The Plaza de San Francisco is one of the largest and most atmospheric squares in Quito's historic centre, spread before the long white façade and twin towers of the San Francisco church and monastery. Its broad cobbled expanse was laid out in the sixteenth century atop earlier indigenous ground. Framed by colonial buildings and rising toward the Pichincha slopes, the square hosts markets, ceremonies and quiet daily life. The dramatic contrast between the open plaza and the monumental church makes it a defining civic space.