Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito

The Metropolitan Cathedral stands on the southern side of Quito's Plaza Grande and is one of the oldest cathedrals in South America, with construction beginning in the sixteenth century. Its interior blends several styles and holds important colonial paintings of the Quito School, carved altarpieces and the tombs of national figures, including independence hero Antonio José de Sucre. A side chapel marks where an early president was fatally attacked. As the seat of the archbishop, it remains central to the religious life of the city.