El Panecillo facts for kids
El Panecillo is a famous hill in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Its name means "small piece of bread" in Spanish, because it looks a bit like a small loaf of bread. This hill is about 200 meters (656 feet) tall and is made from volcanic rock and a type of soil called loess.
The very top of El Panecillo is high up, at 3,016 meters (9,895 feet) above sea level. Long ago, the people who lived in Quito called this hill Yavirac. A historian named Juan de Velasco wrote that there was once a temple on Yavirac. Here, the local people worshipped the sun. However, Spanish conquistadores later destroyed this temple. Today, a street leading up the hill is named after Melchor Aymerich.
The Famous Statue
On top of El Panecillo, you'll find a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. It was built in 1975 by a Spanish artist named Agustín de la Herrán Matorras. This amazing statue is 45 meters (148 feet) tall, which is about as tall as a 15-story building! It's made from seven thousand pieces of aluminum.
The statue is officially called "Virgin of El Panecillo". It was opened on March 28, 1975, by the archbishop of Quito, Pablo Muñoz Vega. A local engineer from Quito, Anibal Lopez, was in charge of putting the huge statue together.
What Makes the Statue Special?
The statue shows the Virgin Mary standing on top of a globe. She is stepping on a snake, which is a common symbol in art. But what makes this statue truly unique are her wings! Many people in Quito say she is the only Virgin Mary statue in the world with angel-like wings.
This statue was inspired by an older, very famous artwork called "Virgin of Quito". This older statue, also known as "the dancer," was carved by Bernardo de Legarda in 1734. You can see it today in the main altar of the Church of St. Francis in Quito. The "dancing" pose of Legarda's Virgin was very new for its time. It showed movement, unlike the still statues that were common in the 1700s.
A bronze sign on the El Panecillo statue explains that the woman it represents is from the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
See also
- Virgin of Quito
- Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, Quito
- List of buildings in Quito
