Museo del Virreinato

One of Mexico's most important history museums, and one of the largest outside Mexico City, the Museo del Virreinato tells the story of religious life and its expansion across Mexico in the colonial era. The museum is housed in the former College of San Francisco Javier and also includes the adjacent Church of San Francisco Javier. The museum is very large and will take at least a half day to explore. The museum complex in the former college includes several interior courtyards, a chapel, library, dormitories, and a dining hall and kitchen. At the back of the museum is a 3 hectare garden filled with statues and the original Salta de Agua fountain, which marked the end of an aqueduct that ran to Mexico City. The museum collection is mostly liturgical with a number of colonial-era artworks commissioned for area churches and missions.