place

Museo Amparo

1991 establishments in MexicoArt museums and galleries in MexicoEthnographic museums in MexicoHistoric centre of PueblaHistoric house museums in Mexico
Museums established in 1991Museums in PueblaSpanish Colonial architecture in Mexico
Mampar Pue
Mampar Pue

The Museo Amparo, located in the historic center of Puebla City, is one of the most important historical museums in Mexico. It was inaugurated in 1991 and sponsored by the Amparo Foundation, which was founded in 1979 by Manuel Espinoza Yglesias in honor of his wife.The museum is housed in two colonial-era buildings that date from the 17th and 18th centuries, which were popularly known as the Hospitalario. One of the buildings was the Hospital de Nuestra Señora y San Juan de Letrán founded in 1534. This building was made into a college for women by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza in the middle of the 18th century, and remained so until the 20th century. The other building is from the 18th century with a brick facade. It was part of the hospital for a time, then was converted into a “refuge” for married women. From 1871 to the 1980s, this building was the home of the Espinoza family. At that time, both buildings were restored and adapted for use as a museum.The museum's permanent collection traces Mexico's development over its history. It has one of the most important collections of pre-Hispanic, colonial and modern art in Mexico, with dates of pieces ranging from 2,500 BCE to the present day, covering the pre-Classic period to the Spanish Conquest. The collection contains jars, figures, steles, altars, sculptures and utensils, from the Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Huastec, Totonac, Maya, Olmec, Chichimec, Mixtec and Aztec civilizations. The Colonial Area is concentrated what was the home of the Espinoza Family, occupying eleven halls. These halls have been decorated to imitate how homes looked like during the various centuries of the colonial period. These rooms are filled with furniture, wood and ivory sculptures, silver items, Talavera pottery and well as oil paintings.Parts of the collection have been lent for temporary exhibits such as in Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, including the museums emblematic pre-Hispanic piece, a throne from the late Classic Period from Rio Usumacinta, Chiapas. As a cultural center, the museum hosts temporary exhibits by national and international artists. It also presents conferences, seminars, concerts and workshops to support education, research and the creative arts.It was one of the first museums in Mexico to integrate technology such as multimedia systems and interactive CDs, which can provide guided tours in English, Spanish, French and Japanese through twenty one computer stations located in the fourteen halls of the permanent collections. Because of its collection and avant-garde use of technology, this museum is considered to be one of the most important in Mexico and Latin America.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Museo Amparo (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 19.0408 ° E -98.1985 °
placeShow on map

Address

Museo Amparo

Calle 2 Sur 708
72000 Puebla
Puebla, Mexico
mapOpen on Google Maps

Phone number

call012222293850

Website
museoamparo.com

linkVisit website

linkWikiData (Q3328379)
linkOpenStreetMap (7948398)

Mampar Pue
Mampar Pue
Share experience

Nearby Places

Puebla Cathedral
Puebla Cathedral

The Basilica Cathedral of Puebla, as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is known according to its Marian invocation, is the episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Ángeles (Mexico). It is one of the most important buildings in the historic center declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has the prerogative of being the first sumptuous temple that under good designs was made in the Americas, consecrated in 1649, ahead of the Metropolitan of Mexico that was dedicated in 1653. It was founded by Philip II of Spain.The current Herrerian-style cathedral was built between the 16th and 17th centuries, and replaced the previous one that existed in what is now the atrium. From the beginning of its construction in 1575 to its consecration, 74 years passed, which are located during the period of three kings of Spain, Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV. The setbacks throughout those years allowed numerous modifications to the original layout. By 1624 the works were completely suspended until the arrival of Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza in July 1640, who resumed the works with determined enthusiasm. The new reforms gave a higher elevation to the central nave above the processional ones, allowing the passage of natural light and giving it the appearance of a pyramidal structure. It was consecrated by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza on April 18, 1649 without having been completely finished. The space it occupies is rectangular in shape, recharged in the corner of another larger floor, forming a large space for the atrium. The building is organized into five naves: a central one, two lateral ones and two niche chapels, its Renaissance-style façade stands out. Attached to its back is a building for offices of the Mitra, its former headquarters, and the building of the chapel called Ochavo. With its little more than 70 meters high, it was the tallest church in the Spanish colonies. The cathedral is considered one of the most important museums of New Spanish and later art due to the treasures it houses. Over the centuries it has been enriched in works of painting, sculpture, goldsmithing and carpentry of great artistic quality, as well as its decorations, the large boarded doors, iluminum and the treasures of the sacristy that protect the rich priestly ornaments embroidered with gold and silver thread, sacred vessels, chalices, ciboria, reliquaries and crosses bathed in gold inlaid with jewels and diamonds. Its historical archive has documents dating back to the founding of the city and many are waiting to be classified.