Showing 1-14 of 14 results
-
Capilla de la Tercera Orden
Built in the early 18th century, the Capilla de la Tercera Orden, like Templo de San Francisco, was part of a Franciscan monastery complex. The main facade shows St Francis and symbols of the Franciscan order.
-
Casa del Mayorazgo de Canal
The historic Casa del Mayorazgo de Canal, one of San Miguel's most imposing old residences, now houses Banamex offices. It's a handsome neoclassical structure with some late baroque touches. The original entrance is at Canal 4 and retains beautiful carved wooden doors based on a tapestry design.
-
Colegio de Sales
Once a college, founded in the mid-18th century by the San Felipe Neri order, Colegio de Sales regained its educational status; it currently houses part of the University of León. Many of the 1810 revolutionaries were educated here. Spaniards were locked up here when the rebels took San Miguel.
-
Escuela de Bellas Artes
This school is housed in the beautiful former monastery of La Concepción church, which was converted into a fine-arts school in 1938. It's officially named the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez, after a leading 19th-century liberal thinker. His nickname was El Nigromante (The Sorcerer) and the center is also commonly called by this name.
-
Iglesia de San Rafael
Iglesia de San Rafael was founded in 1742.
-
Instituto Allende
The large 1736 Instituto Allende has recently been divided between a school of higher education and an area focusing on Mexican culture and tourism. Several patios, gardens and an old chapel divide the original home of the Conde Manuel de la Canal. Later it was used as a Carmelite convent, eventually becoming an art and language school in 1951. Above the entrance is a carving of the Virgin of Loreto, patroness of the Canal family.
-
Jardín Botánico El Charco del Ingenio
On the hilltop 1.5km northeast of town is the 220-acre Jardín Botánico El Charco del Ingenio. This wildlife and bird sanctuary, an ongoing project thanks to the efforts of local volunteers, was created to conserve a natural area around the town and to provide a recreational and ceremonial space for the community. Pathways head through magnificent areas of cacti and native plants, through wetlands and above a canyon where lies the namesake freshwater spring, the Charco del Ingenio.
-
Mirador
One of the best views over the town and surrounding country is from the Mirador.
-
Museo Histórico de San Miguel de Allende
Near the parroquia is the house where Ignacio Allende was born, now the Museo Histórico de San Miguel de Allende. Exhibits relate the interesting history of the San Miguel area, with special displays on Allende and the independence movement. A Latin inscription on the facade reads Hic natus ubique notus, which means 'Here born, everywhere known.'
-
Oratorio de San Felipe Neri
This multi-towered and domed 18th-century Oratorio de San Felipe Neri is near the east end of Insurgentes. The pale-pink main facade is baroque with an indigenous influence. A passage to the right of this facade leads to the east wall, where a doorway holds the image of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude). You can see into the cloister from this side of the church.
-
Advertisement
-
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel
The parish church's pink 'wedding cake' towers dominate the Jardín. These strange pinnacles were designed by indigenous stonemason Zeferino Gutiérrez in the late 19th century. He reputedly based the design on a postcard of a Belgian church and instructed builders by scratching plans in the sand with a stick. The rest of the church dates from the late 17th century.
-
Templo de La Concepción
The splendid Templo de La Concepción has a fine altar and several magnificent old oil paintings. Painted on the interior doorway are a number of wise sayings to give pause to those entering the sanctuary. The church was begun in the mid-18th century; its dome, added in the late 19th century by the versatile Zeferino Gutiérrez, was possibly inspired by pictures of Les Invalides in Paris.
-
Templo de La Salud
Templo de La Salud, with a blue-and-yellow tiled dome and a big shell carved above its entrance, is just east of San Felipe Neri. The facade is early Churrigueresque. The church's paintings include one of San Javier by Miguel Cabrera. San Javier (St Francis Xavier, 1506-52) was a founding member of the Jesuits. It was once part of the Colegio de Sales.
-
Templo de San Fransisco
Templo de San Francisco has an elaborate late-18th-century Churrigueresque facade. An image of St Francis of Assisi is at the top.
Showing 1-14 of 14 results
