Guadalupe - Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Attractions
The little town of Guadalupe, famous for its convent, is situated about 7km/4.3mi to the east of Zacatecas on the MEX 45. The convent of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe was founded by the Franciscans in 1707 and has today been converted into an extensive museum (Museo Regional de Guadalupe). It contains a library (not open to the public) and a collection of valuable paintings from the colonial period, which can be visited. This collection includes works by the painters Cristóbal de Villalpando, Rodríguez Juárez, Miguel Cabrera, Antonio Torres and Antonio Oliva.
The convent church was consecrated in 1721 and has an interesting Baroque façade. On either side of the entrance gate can be seen a pair of columns flanking niches containing statues. In common with the columns in the upper part, they are decorated in three sections with figures, spirals and interlacing. Above the door there is an alto-rilievo composed of the Virgin of Guadalupe being painted by the apostle Luke. The upper part of the façade is in the style of local Mexican masters and recalls the design of the cathedral at Zacatecas. The total effect of the façade is seriously weakened by the left-hand tower which was added in the late 19th c.
The beautiful Neo-Classical Capilla de la Purísima (Capilla de Nápoles; 19th c.) inside the church is richly decorated with gold leaf and has some old paintings. The parquet flooring is unique: it is made of mesquite wood into which an elaborately worked and imaginative combination of anenomes, zodiac signs and scriptures is inlaid. To the right of the convent is the Museo Regional de la Historia, which has an interesting collection of motor cars, carriages and other vehicles. These belonged to former presidents and other famous Mexican personages.
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