The following tour includes eight sites of interest, among them churches in the center and the suburbs of Campeche.

Growing steadily from the end of the 17 th to the end of the 18 th century, the fortification wall, which had been intended from colonial times on, marked with stones a division of the city. The inner city is known as the Spanish Town, while the outer one is formed by barrios where the majority of the native population lived. Leading from each of the gates of the walled-in area, roads connected the center to the outer precincts, some of them founded in the 15 th century such as Saint Francis, Saint Roman, while others were registered in the 16 th century like Santa Ana Guadalupe and Santa Lucia.

By the end of the 18 th century, Campeche was one of best-defended places in the Americas after the city had amplified the fortifications with redoubts and batteries as proposed by the Infantry Brigadier and engineer Agustín Crame who arrived at the port around 1779.

From the beginning of the Spanish colonization, the Mayan inhabitants of Campeche were kept apart from the Spanish colonizers. They were settled half a league to the northeast of the main square at the entrance to the convent of San Francisco. San Francisco is considered the first place on Mexican territory where, in 1517, a mass was celebrated. The Franciscan church was built in the middle of the 16 th century. The neighborhood of San Francisco is one of the primordial ones outside the city walls, along with those of Guadalupe, Santa Ana, and San Roman.

Campeche's Cathedral
Located in the Main Square on 55th street between 8th and 10th streets downtown (Historical Center). In 1540 Francisco de Montejo´s son ordered the construction of a small church in honor of the Conceptions Virgin.

This construction was built with lime and pebble, with palm roof. On October 22, 1760, the construction of the Jesus Nazareno Chapel and the water side tower ended, the Española (the Spanish), where the first public clock was placed, with a written stone shield, which was destroyed after the Independence of Mexico. Between 1849 and 1850 the land side tower was built, known today as "La Campechena", the beautiful clock placed on it in 1916 still works. The Chapel is located in the garden. On the right of the church it’s located the bishopric building.

Guadalupe Church
Located in the neighborhood of Guadalupe on 47th Street, between 10B and Miguel Aleman Avenue, this old temple was the first to be dedicated to the virgin Guadalupe, after the one in the Tepeyac. In 1575 Pedro Martin of Bonilla began the construction of the church. It was finished and consecrated in 1660.

Church Of San Roman
The church of San Roman is located on Bravo Street between 10B and 12th streets in front of San Roman’s park.

This church was constructed in 1563 and named in honor of San Roman Martyr. At the beginning the mansion of San Roman was humble, as well as the one of the Black Christ Inside, one can see the wooden sculpture of the Black Christ, which was placed there by the people of Campeche in 1565, ordered by Juan de Cano y Cocoa Gaitan, who brought the image from Alvarado Veracruz, and was carved in Civitavecchia, Italy. With the time the humble chapel grew, the ending of the church with the proportions that now shows was around the XVII century.

Church Of San Francisco
Church of San Francisco is located on the corner of Miguel Aleman Avenue and Mariano Escobedo street, in the neighborhood under the same name, known before as "Campechuelo". Franciscans missioners founded on the Indian ground of Kin Pech, one mile from the Villa of San Francisco of Campeche, the first Franciscan convent in 1546, place where the fist mass in Mexican territory took place in 1517.

In this convent many historical facts took place, like giving hospitality to Martin Cortes’ wife -son of the conqueror of Mexico-, who gave birth to Jeronimo on October 31, 1562, baptized by the Bishop Don Francisco de Toral, and having as Godfather Don Francisco de Montejo.

Go back