Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is set in a valley surrounded by the Andean mountains in the south of Ecuador. This inland colonial town (entroterra ), now the country's third city, was founded in 1557 on the rigorous planning guidelines issued 30 years earlier by the Spanish king Charles V. Cuenca still observes the formal orthogonal town plan that it has respected for 400 years. One of the region's agricultural and administrative centres, it has been a melting pot for local and immigrant populations. Cuenca's architecture, much of which dates from the 18th century, was ‘modernized' in the economic prosperity of the 19th century as the city became a major exporter of quinine, straw hats and other products.

Brief synthesis

Located in the heart of the Andean mountains, the town of Cuenca is entrenched in a valley irrigated by four rivers: Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui and Machangara. This location has over a long period of time favoured close contact with the natural environment. The Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca includes the territory that was occupied by the town of Cuenca until the first half of the 20th century, as well as the archaeological site of Pumapungo and the corridors that include the ancient access routes to the town.

The Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca is a remarkable example of a planned inland Spanish town (entroterra) that bears witness to the interest given to the principles of Renaissance urban planning in the Americas.  Founded in 1577 according to the guidelines issued thirty years earlier by the King of Spain, Charles V, it has preserved over four centuries its original orthogonal plan.

An Indian community was in existence at the time of the arrival of the Spanish, (Inca-Canari); from this time on the character of the town of Cuenca was determined.  The urban layout and the townscape of its historic centre, corresponding to colonial towns located in the interior of the land with an agricultural vocation, clearly bears witness to the successful fusion of the different societies and cultures of Latin America.

The urban fabric of the Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca comprises a system of parks, squares, atriums, churches and other public spaces. Around the Plaza Mayor (Park Abdon Calderon), the three powers of society are always present: political with the town hall and the Governor's Office, religious, with its two cathedrals opposite one another and the judiciary with the Law Courts.  Its paved streets are wide and sunlit. Moreover, the simple colonial houses have often been transformed into more important residences, especially during the period of relative economic expansion due to the production and exportation of quinine and straw hats (19th century). This resulted in a specific architecture that integrated the diverse local and European influences.

A few buildings merit mention: the New Cathedral, begun in 1885, the Old Cathedral, the Carmelite Monastery and Santo Domingo Church. The religious architecture, closely related to public areas, where community life is expressed, greatly contributes to the urban profile of the town.

The vernacular architecture illustrating the techniques and organization of space during the colonial period is principally located in the periphery of the historic centre and in the rural areas. A strong concentration of this type of architecture is located along the River Tomebanba (el Barranco) that defines the boundaries of the historic town on the south side. It is also in this sector that the site of Pumapungo is located (Puma Gate) in the heart of the Inca town of Tomebamba, and that of Todos Santos (All Saints) where the vestiges corresponding  to Canari, Inca and Spanish cultures have been unearthed by archaeologists.

Criterion (ii)

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Cuenca illustrates the perfect implantation of the principles of urban planning of the Renaissance in the Americas.

Criterion (iv)

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The successful fusion of the different societies and cultures of Latin America is symbolized in a striking manner by the layout and townscape of Cuenca.

Criterion (v)

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Cuenca is an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish colonial town.

Integrity

The Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca retains the majority of attributes necessary for the expression of its Outstanding Universal Value, which are complete and intact. Despite the loss of important edifices during the second half of the 20th century, all the components of the urban structure and its relation with the townscape environment remain.

The inventory of constructions declared cultural heritage of Ecuador comprises more than a thousand buildings: 5% are of monumental value (important and dominant presence in the urban fabric); 60% are constructions of prime importance and 35% of the constructions complete the formation of a coherent urban townscape. This inventory contributes towards preserving and consolidating the urban townscape and encourages the comprehension of the socio-economic history of the ancient town and its internal relations.

Authenticity

The Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca has preserved its image of a colonial town and the essential aspects of its original character. Its historic centre is inhabited and enjoys an active traditional social life, although sometimes in degraded living conditions. Due to this continued occupation, the town offers a high degree of authenticity.

The architectonique character of the historic centre is the result of a dynamic modernization process. Numerous edifices have been updated and tastefully adapted to the changing fashions of the different eras, especially between 1870 and 1950.

The Historic Centre has also preserved within its urban zone an archaeological park with vestiges that, despite the fragility of the elements, clearly explain the conception and territorial organization of the pre-Hispanic cultures, in particular the Inca-Canari culture. 

Protection and management requirements

At the national level, the Cultural Heritage Law (19/06/1979) and its provisions is applicable, and is the law concerning the creation of the Cultural Heritage Assistance Fund (29/12/1988) that designates 6% of income taxes collected in each district to heritage protection projects. This Fund was replaced by the “Code organique d'organisation territorial, d'autonomie et de decentralization” (COTAD) that designates to the Municipalities, competence for the protection and safeguarding of the heritage, and provides financial resources for this purpose.

At the regional level, diverse regulatory measures apply: 

• the Act of Declaration of the Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca as cultural heritage of the State in 1982 and successive delegation to the Commission of the Historic Centre of Cuenca;
• Decree for the Control and Administration of the Historic Centre, 1983;
• Decree for the Creation of the Directorate of the Historic Centre, 1989;
• Decree on Signage and Publicity, 1992;
• Decree for the Exoneration of Housing Tax for the owners of properties declared national cultural heritage.

The regulatory provisions apply within the periphery of the Historic Centre but leave the buffer zone without analogous control, very narrow buffer zone, in any event.

The Commission for the Historic Centre is a special body responsible for the control and management of the historic centre. The Commission is assisted by the General Secretariat for Urbanism attached to the Municipal Government of Cuenca for all matters concerning technical aspects.

To date, the Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca has been the subject of several partial management plans. A Master Plan, the Management Plan for the Historic Zones of Cuenca relating to interventions in the designated zones, is under preparation.

The edifices of the historic centre are extremely fragile due to the low resistance of their building materials, particularly with regard to earthen architecture. The authorities consider that regular maintenance by their owners is a priority measure and encourage it in many ways.

As the necessary financial resources to protect a zone of the dimensions of the Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca are insufficient, other national and international resources have been explored, for example:

At the national level: the Ministry for Heritage Coordination financed repair work for the roof of the Convent of All Saints as well as emergent works concerning the maintenance and conservation of the Ancient Seminary San Louis; in a similar manner the Municipality of Cuenca is presently exploring funding possibilities to complete the restoration of the Ancient Ecole Centrale through the “Socio Patrimonio” Programme of the Ministry for Heritage Coordination.

At the international level, the Junta de Andalucia has co-financed a social housing project (16 units) as well as the creation of the Straw Hat Museum, the weaving of which has recently been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  In a similar strain, the Junta de Andalucia is co-financing the restoration of private residences in the Historic Centre; so far, 18 buildings have been rehabilitated.

Through an agreement between the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID) and the Municipality of Cuenca, the School Workshop of Cuenca was created in 1995 to prepare a qualified work force for heritage restoration of the town, as well as to counterbalance the loss of traditional know-how.

The air company LAN maintains a programme called “Cuida tu Destino”; for three years work has been undertaken for the improvement and maintenance of some public areas such as El Barranco adjacent to the River Tomebamba, between the Vado and Centenario Bridges, as well as the Merced and Las Monjas Squares. In the framework of this programme, the participation of educational establishments is important to motivate young people in the conservation and protection of heritage and thus enable the protection of places of touristic interest.

As regards the rehabilitation of built cultural heritage, investment from the private sector has been forthcoming with a strong sense of social compromise.

The training of staff is offered for the most part by the universities of Cuenca and Azuay.