MUSEO DE ARTE PRECOLOMBINO E INDÍGENA (MAPI)

Museum dedicated to the presentation and conservation of pre-Columbian art objects from Latin America. Founded in 2004, it focuses on the ancestral and contemporary cultures of Central and South America, including the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations. Its permanent collection exhibits a variety of pieces, such as sculptures, pottery, musical instruments and religious objects. The museum also has several temporary exhibits, including Claudio Rama's collection of Latin American masks with nearly 800 masks from all over the subcontinent. These masks were used for celebrations such as carnivals, indigenous festivities or Corpus Christi, and date from the second half of the ^20th century to the present. The second exhibition focuses on "hidepainting", the painting on animal skins of North American Indians, between the end of the ^19th and the beginning of the ^20th century. The third is on Ecuadorian ethnomusicology, allowing visitors to learn more about the "sound world" of the indigenous peoples and thus establish links between the musical instruments of the past and those of today. Finally, the exhibition on Andean weaving by the Bolivian artist Aruma, displays "interactive" textile pieces. The museum also has a cafe offering very good cooked food. It is also worthwhile to visit the small store at the entrance.