Quito, Ecuador — History and Culture
Quito gets its name from the pre-Inca Quitu tribe that inhabited the valley in the first millenium. Before the Spanish arrived in 1526, the Incas had converted Quito into a major city, but fearing Quito and its treasures would fall into the hands of the Spanish conquerors, Inca warrior Rumiñahui ordered the city razed and burnt. There are no Inca remains. The present capital was founded atop the ruins by Spanish lieutenant Sebastián de Benalcázar on 6 December 1534. The first city named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, Quito's historical center with its splendid colonial architecture is the city's main attraction. The area is dominated by old cathedrals whose lavish decoration is influenced by the indigenous population of the Andes and laborers brought by the Spanish colonists from as far as China. Many bakeries and shops - a couple of them practically built into the presidential palace - seem to have not been renovated since the 1920s.
