Ecuador: Cuenca – Catedral Vieja

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed city of Cuenca in Ecuador has not one, but two cathedrals – Old and New aka Vieja and Nueva. Catedral Vieja was founded in 1557, the same year the city was founded by the Spanish, and construction started ten years later, using stones from the nearby Inca ruins. It served as the main place of worship until 1880, when a much large cathedral was founded just across the central park. Catedral Vieja looks like a classic rather small colonial Spanish church made out of white adobe. Today, the building functions as the Museum of Religious Art – it’s full of colonial-era religious paintings and sculptures, lots of frescoes, a three-dimensional depiction of The Last Supper, and a 1737 organ. There are multiple ornate chapels and a crypt.