EI Panecillo is located between central and southern Quito, Ecuador. It is a 200-meter high hill made from volcanic rocks with its peak at an elevation of 3,016m above sea level.
The main attracting feature of the EI Panecillo is the Virgin de Quito, which is a statue of virgin Madonna standing on the top of the globe stepping on a snake. Spanish artist Agustin de la Herran was hired by the orders of the Oblates to build this monument of Madonna that is 45m tall and assembled on the pedestal on the Panecillo. It was made from several pieces of aluminum and was inaugurated by the 11th archbishop of Quito on 28 March 1976. The statue of Madonna was later erected and structurally engineered by Anibal Lopez of Quito. It is also known as “the dancer” that sculptured in 1734 by Bernardo de Legarda and is kept at the main entrance of the church of St.Francis. To the north of Madonna monument is a large entrance to Olla del Panecillo that is considered to belong to Inca origin but according to recent research, it was made clear that it came after Spanish period.