Cuilapam

The Dominicans began Cuilapam in the 1550s on a scale that outran them: an enormous open-air basilica of two arcaded rows marching down a nave that was never roofed, attached to a conventual church and a cloister of vaults and murals. Work stopped - money, politics and the crown's suspicion of the order's ambitions all cited - and the result is one of Mexico's most photogenic ruins: rank upon rank of stone arches standing open to the Oaxacan sky, grass underfoot, swallows crossing where the roof should be. The cloister keeps fragments of frescoes, a stone reliquary and inscriptions in Latin, Spanish and Mixtec - a reminder that this was the seat of a Mixtec lordship whose princess Donaji is remembered in local legend and whose lineage the friars married into the new order. Independence-era history closes the story: Vicente Guerrero, the insurgent general, was held here in 1831 and executed in the courtyard, an event marked by a plaque and the town's added surname. The whole ensemble sits quiet, ten minutes past the airport, with almost nobody in it.

History

Cuilapan, first called Sahayuca, has been a settled village since at least 500 BCE; it was one of the satellite cities of Monte Albán and became independent again after Monte Albán declined between 600 and 900 CE. At the time of the Spanish arrival it was a large town of 43,000 people, which is why a major monastery dedicated to James the Apostle was founded here in the 1550s (Wikipedia, Cuilapan de Guerrero).

What's there

• The open basilica - roofless arcades marching into sky.
• The cloister - vaults, mural fragments and trilingual stone.
• The Guerrero plaque - the courtyard's independence memory.
• The valley setting - Monte Alban's ridge on the horizon.

When to go

Dry-season mornings or late afternoon, when raking light does its work in the open nave. Closed Mondays like most INAH sites.

Things to know

There is little interpretation on site - read before, or hire a guide in Oaxaca. It is an unroofed ruin: no shade, and rain closes the pleasure. Combine with Zaachila's market and tombs for a half-day.

Nearby

Zaachila's Thursday market and Zapotec tombs are minutes on; Monte Alban's ruins rise across the valley.