The Earliest Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl () are sixteen earliest 16th-century monasteries which were built by the Augustinians, the Franciscans and the Dominicans in order to evangelize the areas south and east of the Popocatépetl volcano in central Mexico. These monasteries were recognized by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1994, because they served as the model for the early monastery and church buildings as well as evangelization efforts in New Spain and some points beyond in Latin America. These monasteries almost uniformly feature a very large atrium in front of a single nave church with a capilla abierta or open chapel. The atrium functioned as the meeting point between the indigenous peoples and the missionary friars, with mass for the newly converted held outdoors instead of within the church. This arrangement can be found repeated in other areas of Mexico as these friars continued to branch out over New Spain.
The sixteen monasteries are open to visitors, with eleven located in northern Morelos, three in the state of Puebla, and one in Tlaxcala. The twelve in Morelos are also promoted as the “Route of the Volcano” or the “Route of the Monasteries” for tourism purposes. At the 44th session in 2021, the Heritage Site was expanded with the addition of the Tlaxcala City Cathedral.
Region
The World Heritage Site consists of sixteen monasteries that are located south and east of the city of Mexico, the majority in the state of Morelos, except three that are in the state of Puebla. The monasteries in Morelos are located in the municipalities of Atlatlahucan, Cuernavaca, Tetela del Volcán, Yautepec, Ocuituco, Tepoztlán, Tlayacapan, Totolapan, Yecapixtla and Zacualpan de Amilpas. The three in Puebla are located in Calpan, Huejotzingo and Tochimilco. Most of these monasteries are located on the outskirts of Popocatépetl volcano.
Although Popocatepetl is an active volcano, none of the monasteries have been affected by this activity, although some have been damaged by seismic activity. The danger of the volcano is low in these monasteries and in the more than one hundred historical monuments of the region, because in this area there are low lava flows from the volcano and because the monuments were not built in areas where lava tends to run.
World Heritage Site
The UNESCO World Heritage Site consists of sixteen monasteries that are located south and east of Mexico City, most in the state of Morelos, with three in the state of Puebla, and one in Tlaxcala. The monasteries in Morelos are located in the municipalities of Atlatlahucan, Cuernavaca, Tetela del Volcán (including the one in Hueyapan), Yautepec, Ocuituco, Tepoztlán, Tlayacapan, Totolapan, Yecapixtla and Zacualpan de Amilpas. The three in Puebla are located in Calpan, Huejotzingo and Tochimilco. Most, but not all, of these monasteries are located on the periphery of the Popocatepetl volcano.
They were declared a World Heritage Site on 17 December 1994, due to being the model for monasteries and evangelism on the American Continent. They represent the adoption of an architectural style by the first Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian missionaries, which included the use of open outdoor space. This use of open space in the planning of churches and monasteries was adopted through most of Mexico and in some other parts of Latin America. There is disagreement as to whether the monasteries represent a complete imposition of European design or whether they adopted certain aspects of indigenous ceremonial spaces. However, the use of open chapels and “capillas posas” or atrium corner chapels, in large atriums were a way of accommodating the first indigenous converts, who were not used to entering large enclosed structures. The atrium became essential as the meeting point between the evangelists and the indigenous.
The sixteen were built at the very beginning of the evangelization period after the Conquest. The monasteries in Morelos are San Mateo Apostol in Atlatlahucan, Asunción in Cuernavaca (current Cathedral), Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Hueyapan, Santiago Apostol in Ocuituco, Santo Domingo in Oaxtepec, La Natividad or la Anunciaciòn in Tepoztlàn, Santo Domingo de Guzman in Tetela del Volcàn, San Juan Bautista in Tlayacapan, San Guillermo Abad in Totolapan, San Juan Bautista in Yecapixtla and Immaculada Concepción in Zacualpan de Amilpas.
In Puebla, there are three: San Francisco de Asís in San Andrés Calpan, San Miguel Arcángel in Huejotzingo and Asunción de Nuestra Señora in Tochimilco.