Cuenca, Colonial city in Azuay Province, Ecuador.
Cuenca is a city in Azuay Province in southern Ecuador, set in a highland basin at roughly 2550 meters elevation. Four rivers cross the urban area and divide the neighborhoods in a natural pattern between the surrounding peaks.
Spanish conquerors founded the town in 1557 on the ruins of Tomebamba, a former administrative center of the Inca. Builders raised churches and monasteries from cut stone, some of it taken from older structures.
Residents call their town the Athens of Ecuador because of its long involvement in education and letters. In many neighborhoods, families continue to shape ceramics and bake clay tiles for the red roofs seen across town.
A tram network links central areas with outer districts and complements bus routes that run through narrow lanes to higher neighborhoods. The town sits high enough that travelers should allow a day or two to adjust.
The old quarter holds four separate squares from colonial times, each one showing different building patterns and facade shapes. Locals gather on these squares in the morning to sell flowers and homemade bread.
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