A city and municipality, Morelia is situated in the Guayangareo Valley in the north central part of the Michoacan state in central Mexico. Pre-Hispanic cultures were present in the valley with human settlements dating back to the 7th century, but a city developed only after the Spaniards arrived here in the 1520’s. A Spanish settlement came up in the valley in 1541 and was named Valladolid. The city got its new name, Morelia, after the Mexican War of Independence and in 1991; it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the well-conserved colonial buildings and historical city center.
The historical city center is the most important part of the city and still exists in its original layout when it was established in 1541. More than a thousand of the colonial buildings built during the 16th to the 20th centuries have been declared to be of great historical value. In the heart of the center is the Cathedral, surrounded by the Plaza de Armas also called the Plaza de los Martires, Plaza Juarez and Plaza Melchor Ocampo. The largest among them is Plaza de Armas, which has been restructured several times. The Plaza is flanked by colonial buildings, which include the Banca Promex, Virrey de Mendoza Hotel, the old town house also known as the Michelena House and the Juan de Dios Gomez House.
The Casa de la Cultura was a former monastery founded in 1593. The church construction completed around 1619, but the work in the monastery continued through the 17th century. With time the church dilapidated, but in the 1940’s it was restored and today functions as the Michoacan Institute of Culture. There are several museums that you can visit too such as the Museo Regional Michoacano, Museo del Estado, Museo de Arte Colonial, Casa Museo Jose Maria Morelos Y Pavlon among various others. Most of the buildings are built of pink cantera stone that uniformly mark the skyline of the city along with modern Mexican architecture.
Morelia is a four hours drive from Mexico City besides which it is connected to various parts of Mexico via the Altacomulco-Maravatio – Morelia highway. The Morelia International Airport caters to both domestic and international flights.
Photo by Enzo Molino provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by RS-Camaleon provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by RS-Camaleon provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by J.Ernesto Ortiz Razo provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by RS-Camaleon provided courtesy of Panoramio.com