| Carondelet Palace | |
|---|---|
| Palacio de Carondelet | |
| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Architectural style | French renaissance, Spanish barroque |
| Location | Quito, Ecuador |
| Address | García Moreno st. and Chile rd. |
| Elevation | 2,820 m (9,252 ft) |
| Current tenants | President of Ecuador |
| Construction started | 1801 |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Barón Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet |
| Owner | Ecuadorian government |
Carondelet Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Carondelet) is the seat of government of the Republic of Ecuador, located in the historical center of Quito. Axis is the nerve of the public space known as Independence Square or Plaza Grande (colonial name), around which were built in addition the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Hotel Plaza Grande and the Metropolitan Cathedral.
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The history of this emblematic building dating back to colonial times, around 1570, with the acquisition of the former royal houses located in the city of Quito.
The first seat of the Spanish Crown in the Audience of Quito functioned near the convent of La Merced (current Cuenca and Chile streets) until around the year 1611, when dies Diego Suarez de Figueroa, secretary of the audience, who owned a small palace built in the central square (Plaza Grande).
Juan Fernandez de Recalde, president of the Audience then informed the king that the building was finished, and it was purchased by the Crown as a larger building to house the comfortable premises of the Spanish Administration in Quito soil.
Some time later, the successor to President Recalde, Antonio de Morga, informed the king that the royal houses were unworthy to carry that name, because they were close and very old, so they proposed to buy the adjacent houses. The earthquake of 1627 forced them to buy the neighboring buildings that, by their age, were rebuilt in stone and brick. Thereafter, the power of the audience settled in front of the Plaza Grande.
In 1799, the Barón Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet was appointed chairman of the hearing. In 1801, the Spanish engaged to Antonio Garcia, under his direction, perform work of rehabilitation and improvements, both at the Palace of the audience at the Cathedral as well; also led the work on the arches of the sewers and the renovation of the Prison building.
After the independence of Ecuador, culminated with the Battle of Pichincha in 1822, the palace became the headquarters of the South Department of Gran Colombia, receiving the liberator Simón Bolívar sometimes, whom wondered by the elegance and austerity of the building in addition to being delighted with the taste of the Baron of Carondelet (main thrust of the work), so it was Bolivar who gave the name of Carondelet Palace.
During the Republican era, almost all the presidents (constitutional, internees and dictators) have dispatched from this building, which is the seat of Government of the Republic of Ecuador.
There has been some changes over the years, the most important in the presidencies of Gabriel García Moreno, Camilo Ponce Enríquez and Sixto Durán Ballén.
In addition to the administrative units in the third level of the Palace is the presidential residence, a luxurious colonial-style apartment in which they live the President and his family.
Currently, the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Government, occupy the Complex of Carondelet, which includes the buildings of the former Mail (current Benalcázar street, between Chile and Espejo) and the Government Palace, separated by the garage.
Rafael Correa, president since 2007, considering that Carondelet Palace and its agencies are Ecuadoran heritages, convert the presidential compound into a museum accessible to all who wish to visit it.
To this end, areas were organized to locate objects within their cultural contexts, to make them accessible to the world, which used several rooms and spaces within the palace.
To make this work, Maria del Carmen Molestina researcher, Ph.D. in Archeology Museum and former director of the Central Bank of Ecuador, made the inventory and identified places to expose the gifts that President Correa received from their possession. Furthermore, the found objects and antique furniture from the Palace to put on cultural value and entering the exhibition gallery.
Under this system, is now the opportunity to give gifts to all his presidential value cultural, historical and / or ethnographic, as are all objects that represent and embody habits, traditions, ideologies and thoughts of different Ecuadoria ethnic groups.
According to the researcher Maria del Carmen Molestina it is amazing how, over the years, the Palace of Carondelet has been plundered. Most of the furniture and items that can be seen today are new, even have drawn some of the brass fittings of the furniture from the time of Garcia Moreno, placing replicas in gold spray lead.
The finding that the expert has done, made to establish how long the place was "looting"; doing a bit of history, the Carondlet Palace was restored in the presidency of Camilo Ponce Enríquez, and until the presidency of León Febres-Cordero Ribadeneyera, everything was perfectly fine. From that period is not known about the fate of the various possessions of the Presidential House.
Additionally, Molestina assumes that everything is kept until the presidency of Rodrigo Borja, just prior to Sixto Durán Ballen perform the presidential apartment suitable in the third level.
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