First published: 23/02/22.

Clyde 1

Church Of Santa Prisca And Its Surroundings

Church of Santa Prisca and its Surroundings (On tentative list)

Church of Santa Prisca and its Surroundings by Clyde

I visited Taxco in Guerrero in December 2021. The Church of Santa Prisca and its surroundings are visible from quite a distance away from a viewpoint just before heading towards the chaotic but quaint town of Taxco. Its setting in the hillside reminded me a bit of Rocamadour in France and like it Taxco is very popular with Mexicans and international tourists alike.

Just next to the viewpoint before entering town, a makeshift information kiosk for tourists was a godsend not only for providing us a small map of the town and showing us from the viewpoint the approximate location of each highlight, but mostly for suggesting a number of estanciamentos (parking lots) immediately upon arriving, most of which charge around 15 pesos per hour. It is wise to park here not only because it's easy to leave town afterwards but also because on foot it's just a pleasant walk to the Church of Santa Prisca. When we visited there still was a Christmas flower display in front of the church making the intricate New Spanish Baroque facade of the church even more photogenic from the upper floor of the restaurants and bars just opposite. The intricate facade of the Church of Santa Prisca in a way is quite similar to that of the Zacatecas cathedral. Both churches proudly display the wealth generated by the silver mines in the 18th century in pink stone.

The Church of Santa Prisca was the tallest building in Mexico at the time, but was later surpassed by the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in San Luis Potosí. The highlight of the church's exterior are its ornate Churrigueresque twin towers while the highlight of the church's interior are its 9 huge gilded altarpieces. Another panoramic viewpoint over the town of Taxco is from near the Christ of Taxco statue. Just like other inscribed towns and cities in Mexico, the pueblo magico of Taxco is dotted with several churches and chapels. It is full of artisan shops mostly selling silver and although traffic is quite a problem (apparently slowly but constantly causing cracks to the church together with sysmic and mining activity), if you're a fan of old Volkswagen Beetles, you'll have a field day here as most of the cars and white taxis are old VW Beetles.

Taxco certainly doesn't need to be inscribed on the WH list to attract tourists, although perhaps it would help to maintain and preserve its heritage for generations to come.

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