Sights in Morelia
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Catedral
Morelia's beautiful cathedral (unforgettable when it's lit up at night) dominates the plaza and took more than a century to build (1640−1744), which explains its combination of Herreresque, baroque and neoclassical styles.
The twin 70m-high towers, for instance, have classical Herreresque bases, baroque midsections and multicolumned neoclassical tops. Inside, much of the baroque relief work was replaced in the 19th century with neoclassical pieces. Fortunately, one of the cathedral's interior highlights was preserved: a sculpture of the Señor de la Sacristía made from dried corn paste and topped with a gold crown from 16th-century Spanish king Felipe II. It also has a w…
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Museo Casa Natal de Morelos
The Museo Casa Natal de Morelos is on the corner of Calles Corregidora and García Obeso. This is where José María Morelos y Pavón was born on September 30, 1765. He was one of the most important heroes in Mexico’s struggle for independence. He is almost like a king, at least it seems that way when you consider how many monuments, statues, plazas and murals the man has earned. Morelos memorabilia includes old photos and documents. An eternal torch burns next to the projection room. Free international films and cultural events are occasionally held here.
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Colegio de San Nicolás
Morelos studied at the Colegio de San Nicolás, one block west of the plaza. Don’t worry – it is not another museum, but it has become a foundation for the Universidad Michoacana. Upstairs, the Sala de Melchor Ocampo is a memorial to a Mexican hero, a reformer-governor of Michoacán. Preserved here is Ocampo’s library and a copy of the document he signed donating it to the college, just before he was executed by a conservative firing squad on June 3, 1861.
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Santuario de Guadalupe
On the northeast edge of Plaza Morelos, the Santuario de Guadalupe feels like the set piece from Willy Wonka's psychedelic spiritual dream. The pink and red walls of this baroque church built from 1708 to 1716 blooms with white flowers and glistens with an abundance of gold leaf. There's so much color, the interior (decorated in 1915) feels like a Hindu temple. It's the kind of place that would inspire Timothy Leary to do up Virgen de Guadalupe acid tabs.
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Palacio de Justicia
Across from the regional museum is the Palacio de Justicia, built between 1682 and 1695 to serve as the city hall. Its facade blends French and baroque styles and this place, too, is blessed with stairwell art in the courtyard. An Agustín Cárdenas mural portrays brave and heroic Morelos in action. A small two-room museum shares the history of Michoacán's justice system through old photos and papers (look for the grisly cadaver shots).
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Palacio Clavijero
From 1660 to 1767 the Palacio Clavijero, with its awesome main patio, imposing colonnades and pink stonework, was home to the Jesuit school of St Francis Xavier. After the Jesuits were expelled from Spanish lands, the building became a warehouse, a prison and then in 1970 it was completely renovated, restored and rechristened as state government offices. Who said politics and crime don’t mix?
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Museo del Estado
The Michoacán state museum details Michoacán’s journey from pre-historic times to first contact with the conquistadors. Pre-Hispanic arrowheads, ceramic figures, bone jewelry and a shimmering quartz skull can be found downstairs. Upstairs are first-person accounts of how force-fed religion coupled with systematic agricultural and economic development tamed the region’s indigenous soul.
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Museo Regional Michoacano
Just off the plaza, the Museo Regional Michoacano is housed in a late-18th-century baroque palace where you can view a nice variety of pre-Hispanic artifacts, colonial art and relics. There's also another evocative Alfredo Zalce mural, Cuauhtémoc y la Historia, on the stairway. It offers a taste of Mexican history with a good v. evil twist.
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Parque Zoológico Benito Juárez
The zoo is 3km south of the Plaza de Armas and surprisingly pleasant, with most critters in decent habitats. Animals include sea lions, giraffes, elephants, lots of birds and reptiles. Gravel paths make it hard for strollers, but kids will love the small train and playground.
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Museo Casa de Morelos
In 1801 Morelos bought the Spanish-style house on the corner of Avenida Morelos and Soto y Saldaña. Today it’s a Morelos museum. The Museo Casa de Morelos explains his role in the independence movement and has an array of photos, books and antique furniture.
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Calz Fray Antonio
Running east from the Fuente Las Tarascas, the shaded and cobbled Calz Fray Antonio de San Miguel is a wide, romantic pedestrian promenade framed by exquisite old buildings. It wanders 500m to Plaza Morelos, an irregular, conspicuously vacant plaza.
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Estatua Ecuestre al Patriota Morelos
Plaza Morelos, an irregular, conspicuously vacant plaza surrounds Estatua Ecuestre al Patriota Morelos, a majestic statue of − who else − Morelos, on horseback sculpted by the Italian artist Giuseppe Ingillieri between 1910 and 1913.
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Museo de Arte Colonial
Mel Gibson would dig the Museo de Arte Colonial south of Plaza del Carmen. There are 100 crucifixes here - many of them quite grizzly and very little else. On the 18th-century canvasses Jesus looks healthier - as a baby, a preacher and a healer.
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Palacio de Gobierno
The 17th-century palace, originally a seminary and now state government offices, has a simple baroque facade and impressive historical murals inside. They were commissioned in 1961, painted by Alfredo Zalce and are worth a peek.
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El Acueducto
El Acueducto runs for several kilometers along Av Acueducto and bends around Plaza Villalongín. It was built between 1785 and 1788 to meet the city's growing water needs. Its 253 arches are gorgeous when illuminated at night.
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Fuente Las Tarascas
Fuente Las Tarascas, the fuente (fountain) erupts from a fruit tray held by three beautiful, topless Tarascan women. The original vanished mysteriously in 1940 and this reproduction was installed in the 1960s.
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Orquidario
Near the convention center, about 1.5km south of the city center, there's a worthwhile Orchid House, which exhibits nearly 3000 species of wild and hybrid orchid. The orchids bloom best in April, May and October.
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Bosque Cuauhtémoc
The Bosque Cuauhtémoc is a large park favored by families because of its shade trees, amusement park and museums. But a city as majestic as Morelia deserves a better maintained, more dynamic green space.
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Museo de Historia Natural
The strange, lifeless Museo de Historia Natural, on the east side of the Bosque Cuauhtémoc park, displays stuffed, dissected and skeletal animals and human fetuses.
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Ex-Convento de San Diego
Beside the Santuario de Guadalupe, the much less splashy Ex-Convento de San Diego was built in 1761 as a monastery and now houses the law school of the Universidad Michoacana.
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Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
Modern-art fans will enjoy the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. The 19th-century building hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.
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Planetario
Near the convention center, about 1.5km south of the city center, is a Planetario, with 164 projectors simulating stars on a dome 20m in diameter.
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