Northwest of El Panecillo, this beautiful 17th-century monastery sits in a quiet courtyard behind thick walls above the Old Town. Inside, you’ll find outstanding colonial works from both the Quito and Cusco schools, including one of Quito’s finest pulpits, carved by the notable indigenous woodcarver Juan Bautista Menacho.
There’s also a fascinating 18th-century painting by Miguel de Santiago of the Last Supper. The oddest piece of work here is an unidentified painting by Hieronymus Bosch, titled Passage from this Life to Eternity : no one can explain how it got here. At the end of the tour, you can climb narrow stairs to the bell tower and walk along the rooftop.
