2020 | Building Peace through Heritage
ance, reason why we are requesting support from the FONDEN, in order to be able to conclude the works.”
(Duarte, 2020)
Also, it was mentioned in the interview that they can’t provide a date to conclude the restoration works in
the Monasteries, since they are working according to the resources that are provided.
It is the priority to restore the Monasteries to be able to return the touristic fluctuation and overall to return
to the people their places of worship to preserve the intangible Heritage in these areas, that are before mentioned,
their religious festivities that fill with color, music and rituals.
Conclusion
Mexico is a country very rich in culture and heritage of humanity, an example of this is The Route of Monasteries,
as it is popularly known, it corresponds to a series of 14 ecclesiastical monasteries built in the 16th
century, corresponding to the three Mendicant orders who arrived to Latin America after the conquest of
Spain, with the mission of evangelizing the population of the states of Morelos and Puebla, as well as the
rest of the country.
These temples not only stand out for their antiquity, history and function, but have also contributed to
the culture, identity, urban and tourist development of the surrounding communities, given their unique
architectural characteristics, which manage to fuse both ancient European patterns with the traditions and
symbolisms of the communities that host them. These Temples and Old Convents are part of the UNESCO
World Heritage since 1994.
After the accidents that occurred as a result of the earthquake registered between the states of Morelos and
Puebla on September 19, 2017, these clergy centers were affected not only in their entire structure, but also
in their impact to their community and their traditions. This led the government to take urgent restoration
and conservation actions for the safeguarding and recovery of these important buildings; even though there
were no human or economic resources to solve the damage to the 1800 buildings and monuments affected
in the country. That is why the conservation and rescue processes of these enclosures have been extended to
date without having been able to achieve their full recovery.
Therefore, it is necessary to create a better awareness of the importance of the Route of the Convents as
a world heritage. The collaboration of tourism experts, restorers and communities is necessary so that the
influx of visitors interested in Mexican architecture, colonial history and culture reaches the monasteries so
they could recover their importance as tourist attractions in Mexico.
The government organizations such as INAH and the CNMH-INAH generate several proposals from different
teams of experts in the field that are working day and night to preserve not only the enclosures but also
the cultural treasures, in order to keep the important social, economic and touristic welfare in the regions
located on the Popocatepetl foothills.
Acknowledgements
We express our great gratitude to the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco for the invita tion to participate in
the XXII General Assembly and Symposium “Building Peace through Heritage- World Forum to Change
through Dialogue” and especially to Mr. Simone Giometti who encourage us to be here.
Special thanks to all the people who are working to save the damage Mexican heritage and also the ones
that donated to help the surrounding communities.
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