The “city of pink stone,” named for the color of the stone used in the construction of its buildings, was established in the Guayangareo Valley in a site near a pre-Hispanic settlement of Pirinda Indians. In 1531, the Franciscan friars Fray Juan de San Miguel and Fray Antonio de Lisboa arrived in this valley and established a settlement where they began the evangelization of the indigenous people of the region. This is the earliest evidence for the existence of the city.

During the viceregal period, Morelia was called Valladolid, although in early times it was known as the “City of Mechuacán,” a title it vied for with Pátzcuaro, which was then the seat of the bishopric and the powers of the viceregal government, and was also the larger settlement, mostly of indigenous people, until the last third of the 16th century.

The city of Valladolid was founded by order of the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza on May 18, 1541, as a result of the political pressure exerted by the encomenderos of Michoacán, who repeatedly demanded the founding of a Spanish city to challenge the dominance of Pátzcuaro, and the transfer of religious and civil powers. This transition took place in 1580.

In addition to the Franciscans, the Augustinians, the Jesuits, the Carmelites, and the Mercedarians, the female branch of the Order of Preachers all established bases in Valladolid, meaning the city was full of monasteries and convents during the 17th century.

Valladolid was a settlement that emerged from a Spanish-led project. For the location of the Cathedral, whose construction commenced in 1660, the highest point of the valley and a spacious site were chosen. Likewise, the old Calle Real (now Avenida Francisco I. Madero) was laid out by cord, from east to west, as the main axis of the city. Using this as a starting point the other plots were distributed in a more or less regular manner, and were allocated to monasteries, churches, government buildings and private residences.

In the grounds located to the south of the cathedral, the city hall, the jail, stores and houses were located. The sumptuous Spanish and criollo houses were established near the cathedral and the main street, while the rest of the population was grouped into neighborhoods located on the periphery or in the agricultural estates that surrounded the city.

Throughout the 18th century, the civil, religious, landowner and merchant authorities agreed to improve the appearance of the city as a means of displaying their power and wealth. However, the city lacked an adequate drainage and water distribution system, so in 1705 the construction of the aqueduct began. However, by the end of the 18th century it already presented many deficiencies, so in 1785 the bishop paid for its reconstruction, resulting in the monumental structure that has become one of the symbols of the city.

The city of Valladolid is also recognized nationwide as the birthplace of a number of central figures of the independence movement in Mexico: José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón, a clergyman and military man who laid the foundations of the first liberal Constitution of Mexico, was born here on September 30, 1765, and Agustín de Iturbide, one of the key figures who signed the act of Independence and who became Emperor of Mexico, was born in the city on September 27, 1783.

A very notable event that even predates the beginning of the independence movement was the formation of the so-called “Conspiracy of Valladolid” that took place in 1809. This was a meeting of a group of wealthy criollos who sought to establish a junta or congress to govern the viceroyalty of New Spain on behalf of King Fernando VII, since the Spanish throne had been usurped by the French and the king was imprisoned. This group was led by Mariano Michelena and José María García Obeso, officers of the infantry regiment. The “Conspiracy” was discovered and its members were arrested, however, they had already established contact with criollos from other cities such as Querétaro, where the plan that would fire up the independence movement was devised. In 1828, with Mexico already an independent country, the city of Valladolid changed its name to Morelia, in honor of its prodigal son José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón.

By the mid-19th century, there was a change in mentality towards more liberal ideas that brought with it major and rapid transformations in the city. As of 1856, with the enactment of the Ecclesiastical Property Confiscation Law, church property was “taken by storm” to demolish the walls and transform the old cemeteries into new urban spaces, to divide properties and open up new streets, and to sell their assets. Likewise, the names of the streets were changed and new urban infrastructure was built.

During the second half of the 19th century, the city grew and new construction styles and new urban planning concepts of European origin were introduced, which brought about a transformation in the use of spaces. They also ordered the removal of numerous coats of arms that adorned the facades of the houses because it reminded them of “the past of viceregal oppression.” New technologies for communication such as the telegraph, the railroad, electric lighting and the tram were also introduced. The streets of the city became tree-lined promenades and the old cobblestones were changed to smooth paving slabs in 1910, the new municipal cemetery was established and that same year work began to install a piped water network.

In 1917, the Michoacan University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo was created as an heir to the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo, first founded in 1540 by Bishop Vasco de Quiroga in Pátzcuaro and transferred to Valladolid in 1580. The illustrious Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was rector of this school and distinguished figures such as José María Morelos y Pavón, José María Izazaga and Ignacio López Rayón studied there.

Today, Morelia is the capital and the most populous city of the State of Michoacán. It hosts a number of international festivals: the “Miguel Bernal Jiménez” music festival, the Organ Festival and the Film Festival, and others related to the arts that have gained great importance internationally.

The Zone of Historical Monuments of the city of Morelia was declared on December 19, 1990, and was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1991. The protected area covers 3.43 km2, which includes buildings from the 16th to 19th centuries, distributed over 219 city blocks. The oldest is the former Franciscan monastery complex dedicated to Saint Bonaventure, while the Cathedral, the former Bishopric and the clerical jail also stand out; the churches and former cloisters of San Agustín; of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; of Our Lady of Mercy; of Santa Rosa María or “Las Rosas”; of “Las Monjas” (of the Catarine nuns); of the Capuchin nuns (Indias Cacicas); of the Dieguinos (Sanctuary of Guadalupe and the Faculty of Law); the Church of the Cross; the parish church complex of San José; the neighborhood chapels such as the Virgen de Lourdes (formerly the Señor del Rincón chapel), the San Juan, the “Señor de La Columna” and the “El Prendimiento”, the “Santo Niño” and the “Soterraña” (former chapel of the Virgen de las Nieves).

Other significant buildings include those destined for educational, welfare, service and public decoration purposes or for the use of the civil and military authorities, among which may be noted: the Former Tridentine Seminary, currently the State Government Palace; the Town Hall and the Alhóndiga, currently the Historical Museum of the Judicial Power of the State of Michoacán de Ocampo; the headquarters of the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo, now known as the “Primitivo y Nacional Colegio de San Nicolás de Hidalgo”; the Jesuit College, dedicated to San Francisco Xavier, also known as the Clavijero Palace or the Clavijero Cultural Center; the Colegio Teresiano de Guadalupe, currently the Federal Palace; the Former Diocesan Seminary; the House of Tithes, today a bank; the Episcopal Palace; the Juaninos Hospital; the Tobacco Factory, today the Municipal Palace; the Mesón de San Agustín, and the Mesón de la Soledad, among many others.

In terms of private civil architecture, the residences of the following families remain: Huarte, Michelena, Anzorena, García Obeso, Lejarza y Unzaga, Iturbide, Foncerrada, Peredo, Vélez, Alzúa, Oviedo, Gómez, Mauleón, Pagola, De los Ríos, Abad and Queipo, to name only a few, among the more than 1,100 constructions of private civil architecture that are still preserved.

The urban landscape of Morelia alternates with 14 plazas large and small, gardens and fountains, among which are of particular note: the Plaza de los Mártires; the Plaza de Armas; that of Rayón; that of San Agustín; that of the Agrarian Reform, formerly San José; “P. Bocanegra,” formerly Del Carmen; “Vasco de Quiroga,” formerly Plaza de Capuchinas; Melchor Ocampo, formerly Plaza de la Paz; Revolution; Villalongín; of Carrillo; “Heroes of 1947” formerly I. Huarte square; the “Luis González Gutiérrez” gardens, formerly the Roses; the Morelos circle, the fountains in these plazas and that of “Sorinne.”