Some museums display the works of famous artists.
Others glorify the deeds of legendary generals and political figures. The subject of Quito's new City Museum is simply people and how they lived over the past four centuries. Among its exhibits are life-size dioramas and artifacts that range from colonial sculptures and Amazon forest trees to a 19th century horse carriage and huge paila kettles used for cooking on haciendas. Museum goers can also tour the hospital's exquisite chapel and view a patient ward preserved as it was four centuries ago, with straw pallet beds set in arched niches. The museum was opened last August by Quito Mayor Jamil Mahuad, a strong supporter of the museum and its daily life concept, and of the Quito Historic Center project, just before he became Ecuador's president.