Acatepec - San Francisco de Acatepec

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stands the triply-articulated, azulejos and brick clad façade. Framed by an irregular arch the portal is flanked on either side by three unequally spaced Corinthian pillars with a statue occupying the niche between. Above, on the mid-section of the façade, estípites (pilasters in the form of an upturned truncated pyramid, a notable feature of the Churriguera style) take the place of the columns, while an emblem of St Francis embellishes the large central window. The outermost pilasters of this section continue upwards in whorls or volutes, the overall effect being that of a gable. A statue of St Francis adorns the star-shaped upper niche above which, at the highest point, stands a sculpture symbolising the Trinity.

The corners of the right-hand tower comprise Salomonic (twisted) columns with ornamental bands of blue and yellow azulejos. Somewhat unusually, the left-hand tower is set at an angle to the façade.

The interior of the church contains a wealth of stucco-work and wood carving, all painted in a profusion of colours and gilded in the Poblano style typical of the 18th c. Of particular interest is an oldish altar-piece (17th c.) with statues finished in the estofado technique - gilding first, then overpainted - and almost lost amidst a welter of gilded Salomonic columns and other ornamentation. Note too the exceedingly intricate and sumptuously ornate door to the baptistery. Greater sobriety prevails in the remainder of the interior, Indian influence being less in evidence here than in Santa María de Tonantzintla.