Quito

Quito
Capital city
San Francisco de Quito
Clockwise from top: Calle La Ronda, Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, El Panecillo as seen from Northern Quito, Carondelet Palace, Central-Northern Quito, Parque La Carolina and Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Luz de América (Light of America), Carita de Dios (God's Face), Ciudad de los Cielos (City of the heavens)
Quito Location of Quito within Ecuador
Coordinates: 00°14′S 78°31′W / 0.233°S 78.517°W / -0.233; -78.517
Country	Ecuador
Province	Pichincha
Canton	Quito
Foundation	December 6, 1534
Founded by	Sebastián de Belalcázar
Named for	Quitu
Urban parishes	32 urban parishes Argelia, La Belisario Quevedo Carcelén Centro Histórico Chilibulo Chillogallo Chimbacalle Cochapamba Comité del Pueblo Concepción, La Condado, El Cotocollao Ecuatoriana, La Ferroviaria, La Guamaní Inca, El Iñaquito Itchimbía Jipijapa Kennedy Libertad, La Magdalena Mariscal Sucre Mena, La Ponceano Puengasí Quitumbe Rumipamba San Bartolo San Juan Solanda Turubamba Gebze Istasyon
Government
• Type	Mayor and council
• Governing body	Municipality of Quito
• Mayor	Santiago Guarderas
Area (approx.)
• Capital city	372.39 km2 (143.78 sq mi)
• Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
• Metro	4,217.95 km2 (1,628.56 sq mi)
Elevation	2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Capital city	2,011,388
• Density	5,400/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
• Metro	2,700,000
• Metro density	640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
• Demonym	Quitonian[1] Quiteño/a (Spanish)
Time zone	UTC-5 (ECT)
Postal code	EC1701
Area code	(0)2
Climate	Cfb
Website	www.quito.gob.ec
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iv
Reference	2
Inscription	1978 (2nd Session)
Area	320 ha

Quito is the capital city of Ecuador. As of 2020, about 2.011 million people lived there. Quito is the second largest city in Ecuador after Guayaquil. The Historic Center of Quito, Ecuador is one of the largest, least-changed and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. Quito was designated a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978. It is the first city to be honored in such a way.^[2][3][4]

The Historic Centre of Quito is located in the center south of the capital on an area of 320 hectares (790 acres), and is thought of as one of the most important historic areas in Latin America. There are about 130 monumental buildings (which have a variety of pictorial art and sculpture, mostly of religious inspired in a range of schools and styles) and 5,000 properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties.

1. ↑ "Ecuador" , Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. VII, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 649.
2. ↑ "Quito - About". Ladatco.com. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
3. ↑ "City of Quito - World Heritage Site". World Heritage Site.org. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
4. ↑ Capello, Ernesto (2011), City at the Center of the World: Space, History, and Modernity in Quito, University of Pittsburgh Press, p. 84