San Esteban Tizatlán

About 5km/3mi north of the Tlaxcala, on the road to Apizaco, is the village of San Esteban Tizatlán, once one of the four ruling powers of the Tlaxcala republic. The remains of the palace of Xicoténcatl and two altars with interesting pre-Columbian wall-paintings can be seen here. These frescos conceived in the style of Mixtec pictographic writings depict mythological figures such as Xochiquétzal, the tutelary goddess of Tlaxcala, Tezcatlipoca ("smoking mirror"), the god of war of the north, Mictlantecuhtli, the prince of the underworld and Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the ruler of the morning star. In the ruins there is a church with an open chapel dating from the 16th c.