Tag Archives: Quito

Vibrant colors of Quito

The Virgin of Quito statue is winged, which is unusual for depictions of the Madonna until you read the plaque on el Panecillo. It is then that you realize the symbolic nature of the figure. This is the Woman of the Apocalypse. This is the Mary described in Revelations, Chapter 12, and the wings were granted to allow her escape from the attacking dragon (Satan) beneath her feet.

Virgin of Quito standing on a dragon coiled around a crescent moon atop a globe

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until just recently that I had seen the original Virgin of Quito, and even snapped a photo of it. If you’ve been following this series on Quito then you’ve seen it as well, in the Church of Saint Francis. Here’s a crop of a photo I unwittingly snapped of the original, complete with wings, dragon, and crescent moon:

The original Virgin of Quito

Now for today’s photo gallery and slide show of el Panecillo and the Virgin of Quito:

Virgin of Quito

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

The Winged Madonna

Virgin of Quito atop el Panecillo

The day after our tour officially ended and our group disbanded, Ursula and I decided to tour Quito on our own on Quito’s version of the Hop-on/Hop-off bus. The Quito Tour Bus company has a fleet of red double-deckers, as you can see here:

Quito Tour Bus — Hop-on, Hop-off

One of our stops on tour included el Panecillo (the Little Bread), a 200-meter/660-foot volcanic hill that overlooks central Quito from the southwest. The elevation here is a lofty 3,016 meters/9,895 feet above sea level, and the views are . . .

Quito panoramic from atop el Panecillo

At the very top of el Panecillo is the 45-meter/148-foot tall statue dedicated to the Virgin of Quito, a Madonna based upon the original Virgin of Quito dating back to 1734. This statue, however, was dedicated  some 242 years after the original.

Virgin of Quito standing on a dragon coiled around a crescent moon atop a globe

From a distance it appears the Virgin of Quito is made of grey masonry, especially on a cloudy day, but a close-up image reveals that the statue is comprised of individual pieces of aluminum—7,000 pieces of aluminum.

Virgin of Quito — 7,000 pieces of aluminum

Now for more images of the view here:

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo

View of Quito from el Panecillo