Public University Library and Old Collection

📚 A Temple of Ancient Books 🕯️

If you love reading or simply appreciate breathtaking architecture, you have to stop here. Unlike modern, minimalist libraries, entering this building in Morelia is like stepping back in time (or feeling like you're in a magical movie 🧙‍♂️).

Why is it so special? Because it literally You are entering a church full of books. The building is the old Temple of the Society of Jesus, a baroque jewel finished in 1695 which was part of the Jesuit complex next to the famous Clavijero Palace.

📖 Mexico's Largest Paper Treasure It's not just a beautiful building. It houses the Old Background the most important one held by a public university in the entire country. We're talking about 22,901 volúmenes that have survived centuries. Among its wooden shelves (which rise to the vaulted ceiling) rest books dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries (incunabula). It is impressive to think that while Pátzcuaro was consolidating its traditions, these books were already being printed in Europe.

🔄 From the Jesuits to General Cárdenas The history of the place is fascinating:

1. He was a Jesuit (1695-1767): It was a place of prayer until the expulsion of the order by King Charles III.
2. State Property: After the expulsion, it passed into the hands of the government.
3. The Gift of Lázaro Cárdenas: In the 20th century, General Lázaro Cárdenas donated the building to the Michoacan University (UMSNH) with a noble mission: to create a public library by rescuing private collections for the people.

🎨 International Art on the Walls Look up, because the walls also tell stories. The room is decorated with six monumental murals. What's curious is their authorship: five were painted by American artists. Hollis Howard and S.C. Schonenberg, and only one, titled “The Homeland”It is the work of the Mexican Antonio Silva Díaz. A very interesting cultural mix under a baroque vault.

📍 Why visit it from Pátzcuaro? Because it's a haven of silence amidst the hustle and bustle of Morelia. Watching high school students doing their homework surrounded by 500-year-old books is a truly unique sight. Plus, it's right next to the Clavijero Palace, so you can kill two birds with one stone on your cultural tour before returning to the tranquility of our lake.