Museo Nacional de Quito

A national icon

We can confidently say that the National Museum of Quito is the most important in the entire country. It was opened in 1969 by the Central Bank of Ecuador and has been run by the Ministry of Culture ever since. Its mission is to showcase the most representative elements of all the pre-Colombian cultures that lived in this region, not just the Incas, and to trace the different phases of national artistic trends which developed after the Spanish colonisation. And let's just say that mission accomplished would be an understatement. Among this vast array of pre-Colombian, creole and contemporary cultures, the ceremonial masks made from pure gold and the Sala Colonial are the main highlights. The coin collection is also not to be missed, offering an interesting insight into the economic and social development of the country through to present day.