La desconocida historia de la construcción de la iglesia de San Francisco en Quito

Abstract

This study presents a new chronology and history of the construction of the Church of San Francisco in Quito, employing unpublished archival documents in order to demonstrate that, counter to the traditional historiography, the present church was not built in the sixteenth but in the seventeenth century. It addresses the people and processes of construction by employing documents, plans and images, investigates questions of authorship, particularly the identities of the designers and builders, and reconsiders the historiographical legacy of the imposing Franciscan church in light of this new documentation.