Pátzcuaro in Brief

an overlook through the region and its closer points.

by

Arturo Pimentel Ramos

(1929 - 2002)

a cuya memoria está dedicado este sitio.

Preface

THE PLAZAS OF PÁTZCUARO

Pátzcuaro, noble city of the viceregal epoch, enjoys many beautiful and important plazas, also listed here according to location, and beginning with:

SQUARE OF THE BASÍLICA

On the airy slope which constitutes the plaza of the Basílica, there lies a lovely garden independent of the church atrium, which because of its hillside location affords a memorable view of the city and of Lake Pátzcuaro, framed by green and distant mountains.

SQUARE VASCO DE QUIROGA

This is one of the grandest colonial plazas in the Americas, surrounded by arched portals and beautiful colonial houses. It is a curious thing that in the plazas of this epoch –and it only happens here in Pátzcuaro that there are no churches on the plaza, only individual homes and buildings around the circumference. This arrangement is due to the fact that the “downtown” (as we’ll call it) in prehispanic times was used for dwellings and shops, leaving the “uphill” areas for ceremonial and ritual sites. As in other cities constructed on top of prehispanic sites, the churches that exist now were built on top of the old ceremonial sites. The main plaza also contains three fountains; the central one includes a statue of the illustrious person for whom the plaza is named.

more

2

General info

How it all began

Don Vasco de Quiroga

Buildings to visit in Pátzcuaro

Plazas of Pátzcuaro

Still more...

Handicrafts

Beyond Pátzcuaro

Credits