HISTORY

The terrain on which the hacienda is located was bought by landowner Don Matheo de la Escalera y Velasco in 1695.

The hacienda has played host to a number of important historical, social, political and scientific events on a national and international level.  The wise French intellectual Carlos Maria de la Condamine arrived in Quito with Luis Godin y Pedro Bouger in 1736.  Six years later, after two hundred years of inactivity, Volcano Cotopaxi erupted, provoking the scientists to move closer to the outskirts of the volcano.  Carlos Maria took up residence in La Cienega, resulting in the beginning of a long and meaningful friendship between the academic and Marquez de Maenza.     
 
Geological activity as a result of the eruption was extremely powerful, destroying a number of towns and communities.  Amidst the earthquakes and aftershocks, the hacienda remained intact, most likely thanks to solidity of the structure with its two-metre thick walls. 

The hacienda’s first guest was Sir Alexander von Humboldt, who stayed there whilst carrying out a series of investigations in 1802. 

The Marques family, romantic and strong archetypes of the colonial period, whose manorial house covered an astonishing six thousand metres (sixty-five feet), were fervent defenders of Simon Bolivar and the libertarian cause.  Family members such as Manuel Matheu y Herrera, Francisco Xavier and Jose Xavier de Ascazubi were Heroes of the Independence, a number of whose activities took place within the four walls of the hacienda. 

  
Mariscal de Ayucucho, Antonio Jose de Sucre and several presidents of the republican period such as the first president of Ecuador, Juan Jose Flores, signed the important Treaty of La Cienega here in the hacienda.  Gabriel Garcia Moreno, Leonidas Plaza Gutierrez and Jose Velasco Ibarra are historical figures of the country who have resided at the hacienda. 

Generation after generation, the hacienda has been inhabited by important personalities and great historical figures, leaving the residence glowing with an aura of grandeur.    

In memory of those important figures, we, the present-day owners, welcome you to La Cienega and promise you an unforgettable experience here in our hotel hacienda surrounded by natural beautiful scenery in the heart of the Andes.