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The Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl World Heritage Site are fourteen 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 UNESCO 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 an 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 fourteen monasteries are open to visitors, with eleven located in northern Morelos State and three in Puebla state. The eleven in Morelos are also promoted as the “Route of the Volcano” or the “Route of the Monasteries” for tourism purposes.
The World Heritage Site consists of fourteen monasteries that are located south and east of Mexico City, most in the state of Morelos with three 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, but not all, of these monasteries are located on the periphery of the Popocatepetl 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.
After being named as a World Heritage Site, INAH or the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia 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.
To further promote 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.
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