The Metropolitan Cathedral occupies the south side of the Plaza Grande, the ceremonial square of Quito, opposite the seat of government. It is among the oldest cathedrals of South America, and its interest lies precisely in its accumulation: successive campaigns of building and repair, after earthquakes and changing taste, have left a structure in which colonial stonework, gilded altarpieces, Quito school painting and later interventions coexist without a single dominant style. The cathedral is also a national pantheon, holding tombs of figures central to Ecuador's history, and it remains the ceremonial church of the country. Filmed within a historic centre inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the episode reads the building as a chronicle in stone and wood, and observes the square outside, where political and religious life have shared the same ground for centuries.
