Actopan - Fortified Convent of Actopan

The convent, an Augustinian foundation, was established in the village of Actopan (Náhuatl: "place of fertile land") in 1548. It was designed by a self-taught architect Pater Andrés de Mata and built with the assistance of Juan Mica Actopan and Pedro Izcuitloapilco, the local Indian chief. The church was dedicated to San Nicolás Tolentino.

The beautiful Renaissance façade with its Plateresque elements is rendered all the more special by the originality with which the decoration around the inner portal is repeated on a larger scale on the outside. Adorning the façade on either hand are a pair of Corinthian columns, the smaller being surmounted by a scalloped fan with ornamental panels and the outer supporting a cornice with decorative frieze, above which is the window of the choir. In addition to the crenellations, stylised sentry-boxes serve further to enhance the fortress-like appearance of the building. The massive square tower shows Moorish influence. The nave, its Gothic vaulting rising to more than 24 m (78 ft) in height, terminates in an angular apse. The interior furnishings are now predominantly Neo-Classical having undergone alteration several times. The sacristy contains a particularly fine font and a statue of St John the Baptist.

A fortification wall extending left from the church surrounds the old cemetery, at the end of which stands the Bóveda de Actopan ("Actopan Vault") or Open Chapel. It comprises a large, boldly curved arch, and walls covered with mosaic decoration (those on the sides illustrating various biblical and historical themes).

To the right of the church portal can be seen the entrance to the convent itself, access being through a vestibule (porteria) with a most unusual façade. Heavy fluted columns support three decoratively panelled arches, the arrangement being completed by pilasters, balustrades and medallions bearing two Augustinian coats-of-arms and an ornate cross. Immediately to the right is a small room (la Sala de Profundis) containing lovely medieval-style frescos depicting the convent's history. The Gothic pointed arches and ribbed vaulting found in the interior of the building contrast with the Renaissance frescos adorning the walls (some being in a better state of preservation than others) in which only the figures show an occasional trace of Gothic influence. The frescos principally portray the Church Fathers and various saints belonging to the Augustinian order but also boast a frieze of heraldic animals, garlands and a variety of other forms of embellishment. They are unquestionably the finest works of this period in Mexico. At one spot under the stairs can be seen the figure of Martín de Acevedo who played a major role in the construction of Actopan and to whom some of the frescos are attributed. He is pictured in the company of two Indian noblemen. Also noteworthy are the design and furnishings of the refectory, especially the frescos on the barrel vaulting, and the polygonal pulpit.

A small building near the convent has been turned into an Otomí folk museum. Items of religious interest are also exhibited from time to time in the former parochial office. The vast atrium, which once measured 290 3 180 m (950 3 590 ft) but now lies almost entirely in ruins, is reputed to have held as many as 40,000 to 50,000 worshippers at a time.