Hitos arquitectónicos como testigos de alianzas político-religiosas en el Ecuador: La Basílica del Voto Nacional

Abstract

Ecuador has one of the largest neo- Gothic buildings in the American continent:

the Basilica of the National Vow, which was conceived during the mandate of former conservative president Gabriel García Moreno in order to create a monument to commemorate the country’s consecration to the Sacred Heart. of Jesus; However, what is ignored is that the temple has attributes that show that close relationship between the State and the Church of Ecuador. Of those attributes, its strategic location on the hill of San Juan stands out, thus generating an imposing reading of the building over Quito, which in turn leads to the spatial relationship that the church seems to have with the statue of the Virgen del Panecillo, thus evidencing a kind of symbolic takeover of the Ecuadorian capital. Added to this is the adoption of the neo-Gothic style for the building, which has undergone alterations in its original design for various reasons, including brief features, the lack of interest by some governments in contributing to the construction, for which the temple has remained unfinished until today. Due to the aforementioned, the contribution of this document consists of highlighting these and other aspects that have not been mentioned or analyzed by architecture theorists, which draws attention due to the meaning that the temple has not only for Ecuadorians but even for the Catholic community worldwide.