Pizarro Palace (Quito)

Brief information

The plot of the Pizarro Palace was granted to Francisco Pizarro shortly after the founding of Quito, but he himself did not live here. For that reason, the name functions as a historical label rather than as a biography of its owner: the present building is better read through the traces of later alterations. Today it is the Hotel Plaza Grande, housed in a restored colonial mansion opposite Independence Square, next to Carondelet Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace.

The building’s main distinguishing feature appeared in the 20th century. In 1930, the Andino family added a floor and a terrace and changed the interior according to a design by Antonino Russo. This gave the house an eclectic appearance, noticeable against the more restrained neoclassical buildings of the main square. Later, the palace served as a luxury hotel, a bank headquarters, and a municipal administrative building, before eventually returning once again to its hotel function.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the building with the layout of the square. It stands in the northwestern corner, on the northern side of the square, and has four floors — according to the original text, it is the tallest building around it. The height here is connected not with the original colonial house, but with the remodeling, when an additional floor and terrace were added.

The facade is read from bottom to top: the massive arcaded base acts as a gateway to the square, the horizontal levels above become lighter, and at the top two towers with windows stand at the edges of a large terrace. Another important detail is the absence of an inner courtyard, which is common in many buildings of the historic center. Instead, the upper floors contain salons added during the reconstruction. These features show how the former mansion was adapted into a representative urban building and hotel.