Zacatecas, Mexico

Nearly all of the city center buildings are nineteenth century or older; the topography and irregular street pattern (most streets are too steep and narrow for vehicles; many have steps in them) almost make one think of a medieval city like Toledo, Spain. The city, built on the site where silver was discovered in the 1530s, is crammed into a narrow canyon, with houses and churches perched on its nearly vertical walls.

"Zacatecas" is the Nahuatl name for the indigenous people who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spanish. The name ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word for a type of grass common in the region, zacatl. The region where this grass grew was originally called Zacatlan, and its inhabitants, Zacatecas.

Sights of Interest in Zacatecas

• Cathedral: It is one of the most beautiful examples of churrigueresque arquitecture in Mexico. It is an elaborately carved red-stone (cantera) structure that was built between 1730 and 1760. It is flanked by two towers with an exuberant ornamentation and has a notable facade that was richly sculpted but its once decorated interior was looted during the civil wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its cupola was reconstructed in 1836 and imitates that one of the church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto in Mexico City.
• Church of Santo Domingo: Almost in front of the cathedral, on one of the corners of the Plaza de Armas, lies Veyna Alley, leading to the church of Santo Domingo that was built by the Jesuits between 1746 and 1749 and has a beautiful baroque facade. Splendid gold wood-carved altarpieces, all of them churrigueresque, and Francisco Antonio Vallejo paintings (XVIII) that represent scenes of The Passion can be found inside.
• College of La Compañía de Jesus: It shows a richly sculpted facade; the cloister is surrounded by halls whose vaults are decorated with cherubim.
• Church of San Agustin: It has a plateresque facade decorated with a bas-relief.
• Parish of La Virgen del Patrocinio: It lies at the summit of a hill, Cerro de la Bufa. It was built in 1728.
• Del Cubo aqueduct: It runs through the city. It was constructed more than 250 years ago.