Morelia

Morelia was laid out in the sixteenth century on a grid, and because the local stone is a pink volcanic cantera, more than two hundred listed buildings across the centre share one colour, which gives the place a coherence few colonial cities manage. The cathedral took a century to finish and its two towers, over sixty metres, were among the tallest in the Americas when built. An aqueduct of 253 arches runs into the city along a broad avenue and is lit at night. The old Jesuit and Augustinian colleges are still in use, one of them as a public library in a former church. The city is also the gateway to the monarch butterfly reserves in the mountains to the east.

History

People have lived in the Guayangareo Valley since at least the 7th century, with finds showing Teotihuacan influence; the Purépecha arrived in the 12th century and dominated the valley without building major towns, and between the 12th and 15th centuries they let the Matlatzinca settle where Juárez Plaza now is. The Spanish arrived in 1525-1526 under Gonzalo Gómez, and in 1541 the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and a group of encomenderos founded the Nueva Ciudad de Michoacán; it grew so fast that Vasco de Quiroga secured city status for rival Pátzcuaro, but in 1545 the new town gained city status from Charles V as Valladolid, and by 1580, after Quiroga's death, political and church authority had moved here, making it the capital of the province. In 1828 the new state of Michoacán renamed the city Morelia after José María Morelos, who came from it, and in 1991 its historic centre became a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Morelia).

The main sights

• The cathedral - pink cantera and two sixty-metre towers on the main square.
• The aqueduct - 253 arches along the avenue, floodlit after dark.
• The old colleges - Jesuit and Augustinian buildings still in daily use.
• Michoacán craft - the state's copper, lacquer and pottery in the city markets.

When to go

October to May is dry and mild; the city sits at nearly two thousand metres so evenings are cool year-round. The monarch butterfly season nearby runs November to March. The international film and music festivals in October and November fill hotels.

Things to know

Traffic and parking in the historic centre are difficult. Many visitors treat it only as a stopover to the butterflies, which sells it short.

Nearby

Pátzcuaro is an hour west; the monarch reserves are two to three hours east.

Key facts