Located in the Mexican state of Puebla, the San Juan Bautista convent in Cuauhtinchan was built between 1528 and 1554 on the site of a 12th-century Tolteca-Chichimeca foundation to support the religious conversion of indigenous populations shortly after the Spanish Conquest. The complex consists of an atrium, church, convent, pilgrims’ portal, garden, and cemetery.
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Located in the Mexican state of Puebla, the San Juan Bautista convent in Cuauhtinchan was built between 1528 and 1554 on the site of a 12th-century Tolteca-Chichimeca foundation to support the religious conversion of indigenous populations shortly after the Spanish Conquest. The complex consists of an atrium, church, convent, pilgrims’ portal, garden, and cemetery.
After the departure of the Franciscan order in the early 17th century, the complex was abandoned for nearly 350 years. It reopened for religious use in 1973. In the late 1980s the Secretary of Urban Development and Ecology performed the first major restoration of the altarpiece, one of only four remaining complete altarpieces from the 16th century in the Americas. However, earthquakes and 20 years of inadequate maintenance, humidity, and temperature have led to deterioration in the complex and its contents, including the altarpiece. Accumulation of dirt, animal guano, and biological growth further contributed to the slow but persistent deterioration of this part of the convent.
