Morelia

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This article is about the city. For other meanings, see Morelia (disambiguation).

Aqueduct in Morelia

Morelia is the capital of the Mexican state of Michoacán de Ocampo. The city is located at 19°42′00″N, 101°11′00″W in the region of the Guayangareo valley, surrounded by the Punhuato and Quinceo hills. The city is the biggest in the state, and the population of the conurbated area was 631,576 people (608,049 in Morelia city), according to the Segundo Conteo de Población y Vivienda 2005 (The Official Population Counting).

The metropolitan area includes the municipality of Tarímbaro, and had 735,624 inhabitants in the same year (2005)

The city's Historic Downtown Area is a UN designated World Heritage Site, and houses many beautiful colonial buildings and churches.

1 History
2 A tour of Morelia
3 Higher Education
4 Sister cities
5 External links

[edit] History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the region was inhabited by a people known as the pirindas, and the place was called "Guayangareo". Morelia was founded on May 18, 1541 by Antonio de Mendoza, as "New City of Michoacán", and in 1578, the name was changed by "Valladolid". In 1580, Valladolid replaced Pátzcuaro as the capital of Michoacán. During the colonial period a number of religious orders established themselves in the city, allowing it to take an important place in the history of art and culture in Mexico. Important architectural sites from the colonial period include the Catedral de Morelia, the Aqueduct (built between 1785 and 1789 by Fray Antonio de San Miguel) , the Governor's Palace, the Palacio Clavijero, and numerous churches, convents, and houses. The Conservatorio de Música de las Rosas of Morelia was the first music conservatory in the Americas.

The city is the birthplace of José María Morelos (1765), after whom it was renamed in September 12, 1828, and who along with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla began the Mexican War of Independence from Spain in 1810. It was also the birthplace of Agustín de Iturbide (1783), the first Emperor of Mexico.

[edit] A tour of Morelia

Fireworks over the Cathedral of Morelia

The Historic Downtown Area (Centro Histórico) encompasses approximately 150 city blocks at the city center, roughly corresponding to the urban area of the city at the end of the eighteenth century. The Centro Historico contains over 1,000 historical buildings and sites. One of the main attractions is the Catedral de Morelia, a cathedral built in the Baroque style. Also interesting is the Casa del Arte where you can find a large variety of high quality artisanal works. There are several other notable historical churches in town including the Templo de las Rosas annex to the Conservatorio de las Rosas, which are both examples of baroque architecture, and the Templo de San Diego (also known as Santuario de Guadalupe), built with an interpretation of the Rococo style using indigenous colors and techniques. The monumental aqueduct, built in colonial days to bring water into town, was functional through 1910. The inner city is built of reddish sandstone, lending the city a unique character among Mexico's many noteworthy colonial cities and giving origin to the name "Ciudad de las Canteras Rosas" that is sometimes used in reference to Morelia.

Morelia has three golf courses: "Club Campestre de Morelia" founded in 1968, which has 9 holes with great difficulty because of very large trees and beautiful lakes; "Tres Marias", a 27 hole Jack Nicklaus designed course that hosts the LPGA once a year; "Club Erandeni", which recently opened its fairways to the public.

At the southern edge of the city is the Santa Maria mountain range, and is home to upscale residential districts, private sector schools and universities. The main university is the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, founded in 1551 under the name of Colegio de San Nicolás by Vasco de Quiroga, first bishop of Michoacán, and is one of the oldest universities in America, and one of the most important public universities of Mexico.

[edit] Higher Education

Among the public and private universities located in Morelia are:

Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (Public)
Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia (Public)
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey ITESM Campus Morelia (Private)
Universidad Latina de América (Private)
Universidad LaSalle (Private)