Recognized as one of the largest architectural structures within a historic center in the Americas, the San Francisco Church and Convent earned the nickname of "El Escorial" of the New World. Despite the changing stylistic trends throughout its 150 years of construction, its talented architects and engineers managed to create a harmonious combination that gave way to a continental gem of architecture. The edifice serves as a repository of more than 3,500 pieces of colonial art, most notable of which are those from the famous Quiteño School of Art. The Legend of Cantuña, which tells the story of a cunning indigenous worker that managed to deceive the Devil, originated here too.