The Earliest Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl () are sixteen early 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 Cathedral of Tlaxcala.

Region

The World Heritage Site consists of sixteen monasteries that are located south and east of Mexico City, 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 foothills of the Popocatépetl volcano.

Although Popocatépetl 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 Popocatépetl 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.

After the sites' being named as a World Heritage Site, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, (INAH) pledged millions of pesos for the restoration and preservation of eleven of the monastery sites. Much of the money was targeted to problems caused by humidity in the walls. One of the first projects was to restore the mural work in the Tetela del Volcán monastery. Another early project was to restore the gardens and fields of the Atlatlahucan monastery. These fields now produce avocados and other crops which are sold to help fund maintenance.

Over 70% of the monasteries built in the 16th century are still in good condition. However, there are claims that the money allocated for the restoration work is insufficient for the job and far less than has been budgeted for other landmarks such as the Basilica of Guadalupe or even the Palace of the Marqués del Apartado. Much of the work that has been done involves restoring the atrium areas, processional corridors and the atrium chapels, where they still exist. Another major effort is to rid the buildings of moss and plants growing on the buildings themselves. Restoration work in a number of the monasteries and restored, and in some cases, led to the rediscovery of murals. However, much restoration work still needs to be done.

Despite Popocatepetl's being an active volcano, none of the monasteries have been damaged by it, although some have been damaged by earthquake activity. Volcano danger to these and the over 100 other historical monuments in the area is low because lava flows from the volcano are generally slow and monuments were not built in the low-lying areas that lava tends to run to.

To further publicize the World Heritage monasteries in Morelos, the state promotes the eleven as the Route of the monasteries or the Route of the Volcano. The route begins in Cuernavaca with the monastery church serving as the city's cathedral. The route then moves east and somewhat north through Tepoztlán, Oaxtepec, Tlayacapan, Totolapan, Atlatlahuacan, Yecapixtla, Ocuituco, Tetela del Volcán and Hueyapan before ending in Zacualpan de Amilpas.

Monasteries The sixteen 16th-century monasteries listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites located around the foothills of the Popocatépetl Volcano are: Code Image Name Town State Coordinates Protected area 702–001 Convent of San Mateo Apóstol y Evangelista Atlatlahucan Morelos Property: 1.23 ha.Buffer zone: 0.13 ha. 702–002 Cuernavaca Cathedral Cuernavaca Morelos Property: 1.57 ha.Buffer zone: 1.43 ha. 702–003 Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Hueyapan Hueyapan Morelos Property: 0.91 ha.Buffer zone: 0.5 ha. 702–004 Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Oaxtepec Oaxtepec Morelos Property: 0.99 ha.Buffer zone: 1.14 ha. 702–005 Augustinian Convent and Church of Santiago Apóstol Ocuituco Morelos Property: 0.62 ha.Buffer zone: 1.28 ha. 702–006 Convent of la Natividad or de la Anunciación Tepoztlán Morelos Property: 1.42 ha.Buffer zone: 1.31 ha. 702–007 Convent of San Juan Bautista Tetela del Volcán Morelos Property: 1.19 ha.Buffer zone: 2.89 ha. 702–008 Convent of San Juan Bautista Tlayacapan Morelos Property: 0.62 ha.Buffer zone: 1.36 ha. 702–009 Convent of San Guillermo Totolapan Morelos Property: 3.61 ha.Buffer zone: 1.23 ha. 702–010 Dominican Convent and Church la Asunción de María Yautepec Morelos 702–011 Convent of San Juan Bautista Yecapixtla Morelos Property: 1.2 ha.Buffer zone: 3.13 ha. 702–012 Convent of la Inmaculada Concepción Zacualpan de Amilpas Morelos Property: 1.94 ha.Buffer zone: 0.24 ha. 702–013 Convent of San Francisco de Asís Calpan Puebla Property: 1.51 ha.Buffer zone: 0.75 ha. 702–014 Convent of San Miguel Arcángel Huejotzingo Puebla Property: 5.65 ha.Buffer zone: 1.29 ha. 702–015 Convent of la Asunción de Nuestra Señora Tochimilco Puebla Property: 1.1 ha.Buffer zone: 2.4 ha. 702–016 Franciscan Ensemble of the Monastery and Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Tlaxcala Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl Tlaxcala Property: 2.82 ha.

Common elements

The reason for being a World Heritage site is that the construction of these monasteries served as an architectural and urban planning model for the monasteries and towns that followed. These monasteries were built to be very solid with thick walls and had a very austere aspect. In some of the complexes, one can see stone merlons which make the complexes look like castles or forts. These were for defensive purposes, as the monks were invading Mesoamerican lands to impose a new religion. For this reason, churches and monasteries of this type are called “fortress temples.”

Most of the monasteries have a large atrium in front of the church, an open chapel, four chapels in each corner of the atrium, and atrium cross, Stations of the cross on the atrium walls, a roofed church, and the cloister area for the monks. Unlike churches built before and in the centuries after, the atrium played a critical role in these monasteries, built initially for the purpose of evangelization. Each monastery had only a handful of monks but hundreds of indigenous converts to whom to say Mass. Part of the reason was to accommodate the large numbers but also because pre-Hispanic rites were performed outside. For evangelization, the atrium and its accompanying open chapel were built first. The atriums are surrounded by low walls, none over five meters high, to give a more intimate feel but keeping the area outside. The open chapels were almost always built on the side of the main church and facing the same direction, towards the atrium. Since most indigenous peoples could not read or write, the churches and open chapels were painted with Biblical scenes in order to evangelize through the images. The atrium walls often have markings for the Stations of the Cross and four chapels, one in each corner. These are called capillas posas. They were used during processions, especially during Corpus Christi, holding the Host. In the middle of the atrium, a large stone cross was placed. On the outside of these early churches, crosses almost always appear without the figure of Christ. The reason for this is that the friars did not want the natives to link the old practice of human sacrifice to the new religion and thus use it as justification for the continuation of the practice.

The large-roofed churches have only one name and on one side, usually on the south, is the cloister area for the monks. Most of the cloisters have or had murals, large gardens and fountains. Decorative elements in both vary, often mixing different trends that were prevalent in Europe at the time, such as rose windows common on French cathedrals, portals similar to those in Spain and even Islamic style triangular altars. A number of hidden elements such as certain numbers important to native beliefs can be found in the churches, such as the number of stairs and aspects of the decorative figures. It is unknown whether these were tolerated by the friars or whether they were added clandestinely.

History