Izamal

Convent of San Antonio de Padua, Izamal Inside the church, Izamal Nuestra Senora de Izamal Street of Izamal

San Antonio de Padua convent was built between 1553 and 1561 on top of the remains of a major Mayan city. The Convent houses the patron saint of Izamal and of Yucatan, the miraculous Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, whose image was originally brought from Guatemala by Friar Diego de Landa, the second bishop of Yucatan. The Friar was also the author of Relata de las Casas de Yucatan (Tale of Things of the Yucatan), one of the most important documents extent regarding pre-Hispanic Maya society).

Serene and elegant, she can be admired in her altarpiece during the mass or in her niche, where one can enter from the vestry in the back by a monumental stone staircase. The convent also houses a beautiful altar piece and restored images of saints.

The Franciscans erected the monumental church with the stones culled from one of the main temples dedicated to the rain god, Chaac. In its atrium, surrounded by 75 arches, the most extensive in America, Pope John Paul II held a mass for the indigenous population in 1993.

You can still see the voluminous pyramids, some oddly situated in the middle of private backyards right in the middle of town. Two of these, the Itzamatul and Kinich Kakmo were restored and are open to visitors.

The calm cobblestone streets, lit at night by street lamps, where little restaurants and comfortable quaint hotels and handicraft stores hide away, can be visited by horse-drawn buggy.