EL CENTRO FROM THE TOP OF CATEDRO DE IMMACULADA CONCEPCION--(THE NEW CATHEDRAL) CUENCA, ECUADOR

My brother, Leo, visited for a week in Cuenca in late January.  My next few posts will be about our week in Cuenca; our week in Lima, Peru with friends; and then as my brother returned to Chicago, my friends and I continued on to Argentina to spend a week there.  After nine years of living in Cuenca, for the first time I finally made the trek to the roof-top of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, better known as the New Cathedral which was constructed in the 1800's, as opposed to the Old Cathedral, a block away, which began construction in the 1500's.  

Below are some photos of the exterior of the New Cathedral.

The New Cathedral is a magnificent structure both inside and out.  It is even more amazing that a city the size of Cuenca in the 1800's undertook the task to build such a massive edifice and adorn it so beautifully inside as well.  Quito has churches which can rival the Cuenca cathedral; but to date, I have not found any other churches in South America to rival Cuenca's in all three characteristics of  size, beauty, and magnificence.  The New Cathedral, as an architectural gem, can also nicely compete with the best churches in Europe.

The New Cathedral, with its three domes, sets across from Parque Calderon, the focal point of the commercial and cultural center of the city.  For a dollar, one can meander up the continuous curving staircase to the rooftop of the cathedral for some panoramic views of El Centro, of Parque Calderon, and of the outlying mountain ranges encapsulating the city basin.  On the way up, one can look through various portals.  In one portal in this photo below, one can view the balcony of the nave of the cathedral,  where the congregation sits below.   Decades ago, the church choir assembled and sang from this choir loft during the mass.

Below is one of the statues on the rooftop.  

Below is the city  of Cuenca, as viewed eastward from the New Cathedral rooftop.

Beautiful Parque Calderon and surrounding buildings along the square:

Above and below are photos of the Old Cathedral,

This is a nocturnal view of the Old Cathedral from a previous shot.

Upon retirement, I arrived in Quito on March 6th, 2011, and made my way to Cuenca on March 9th to begin my new adventure in life.  I have no idea what the future holds, and nothing is perfect; but I know destiny brought me to Cuenca, and I am as much in love with it today as I was with the excitement and passion I experienced when I first arrived.

As my brother (below) and I descended the rooftop to the interior of the church below, we could not help but admire the masonry of the craftsmen who built this structure almost 200 years ago.