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City of Quito

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city and stands at an altitude of 2,850 m. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, and the Church and Jesuit College of La Compañía, with their rich interiors, are pure examples of the 'Baroque school of Quito', which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/2

The City of Quito has the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America. It is located on an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. The city's elevation is 9,300 ft (2,850 m) above sea level. 

Quito's origins date back to the first millennium when the Quitu tribe occupied the area and eventually formed a commercial center. The Quitu were conquered by the Caras tribe, who founded the Kingdom of Quito about 980 CE. In 1462 the Incas conquered the Kingdom of Quito. In 1533, Rumiñahui, an Inca war general, burned the city to prevent the Spanish from taking it, thereby destroying any traces of the ancient prehispanic city.

Indigenous resistance to the Spanish invasion continued during 1534, with Diego de Almagro founding Santiago de Quito, later to be renamed San Francisco de Quito. In 1563, Quito became the seat of a royal audiencia (administrative district) of Spain and became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru with its capital in Lima. The Spanish promptly established the Catholic religion in Quito, with the first church (El Belén) built even before the city had been officially founded. 

In January 1535, the San Francisco Convent was constructed, the first of about 20 churches and convents built during the colonial period. The Spanish actively evangelized the indigenous people and used them as slave labor for construction, especially in the early colonial years. 

A chain of conflicts concluded on May 24, 1822, when Antonio José de Sucre, under the command of Simón Bolívar, led troops into the Battle of Pichincha. Their victory marked the independence of Quito and the surrounding areas.

Quito was one of the first sites ever that was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 (number 2). 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/quito.html