The Sanctuary of Atotonilco has a place in Mexico's War for Independence. After Father Hidalgo and his army left Dolores Hidalgo, their first stop was in Atotonilco. Father Hidalgo took from the Sanctuary a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe. That banner was to be rebels' standard in battle.
Although the exterior of the Sanctuary is very simple, the interior is extraordinary. The walls and ceilings are covered with paintings.
The paintings are deemed by many art historians to be the finest Baroque paintings in the Americas, and the Sanctuary has been called "The Sistine Chapel of the Americas".
Fifteen years ago only about one tenth of the frescoes were visible. The fact that the sanctuary is built on top of a hot spring has caused wicking over the centuries which effectively destroyed the frescoes. The sanctuary was on the endangered list by the World Heritage commission at that time.
ReplyDeleteA group of citizens in San Miguel started raising money. When I brought tour groups to San Miguel, each group donated money. They were impressed by the restoration architect that I had speak to them. Little by little, the restoration began. Then with the designation in 2008, large funds came and the work from 2008 until 2013 was completed for the most part in most areas. The town also has been painted. It was all white until the designation in 2008. San Miguel de Allende and Atotonilco received the designation together. Hence, the town is painted the same colors as San Miguel....It IS a masterpiece. The complex has over 100,000 pilgrims a year who come for personal retreats where self-flaggelation is still practiced!
In my research about Atontonilco I read about the damage to the paintings due to humidity. In addition to restoring the paintings, they did construction work to drain away moisture from beneath the church and thus keep the humidity down.
DeleteWonderful that you had a part in restoring this wonderful site!