Convento de Santa Clara

The Convento de Santa Clara is a colonial monastery in the historic centre of Quito, Ecuador, one of the best-preserved old town centres in the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded around the end of the 16th century for nuns of the Order of Saint Clare, the complex and its domed church were built and rebuilt over the following centuries, forming a notable example of Quito's colonial religious architecture. As a cloistered community, it long stood as an enclosed world of prayer within the growing city.

As an ancient, largely enclosed convent, Santa Clara features in Quito's rich tradition of colonial ghost stories. Local legends speak of nuns said to linger in the cloisters, and passers-by sometimes attach tales of sounds or apparitions to the old walls, in keeping with the folklore surrounding many of the city's historic churches. These are cultural narratives, anecdotal and unverified.

The convent's genuine value lies in its architecture and its place in the religious and social history of colonial Quito. As part of a World Heritage city centre, it contributes to an exceptional ensemble of churches, monasteries and plazas, and rewards visitors who approach it as a working religious and historic site worthy of respect.

The Convento de Santa Clara remains part of the living religious heritage of Quito's historic centre, and access to its church and any conserved areas depends on current religious use and local arrangements rather than being guaranteed as a museum. The surrounding old town is fully open and easily explored on foot.

Visitors interested in the church should check locally for opening times and any services, dress and behave respectfully as in any active place of worship, and avoid entering cloistered or private areas without permission.