Puebla. San Cosme Ixtacamaxtitlan

Like most people we are partial to ruins, in our case remnant colonial churches across Mexico.

In this post we look at the picturesque roofless church of San Cosme on the outskirts of San Francisco Ixtacamaxtitlan in the state of Puebla near Chignahuapan in the Sierra Norte de Puebla.

Although undated, the church, a former Franciscan visita, was founded on a former prehispanic temple site and appears to have been built or enlarged in the late 16th or 17th century, with a narrow single nave and facade extending out from an earlier chancel or open chapel whose blocky structure still rises from the east end.

The church is essentially untouched since the loss of its roof. The facade is modest enough with a plain doorway, octagonal rose window and a steep gable that once framed a pitched, possibly thatched roof.

Despite long exposure to the elements, remnants of early murals still adorn the nave walls, portraying birds and foliage including the two-headed Habsburg Imperial eagle.

text © 2020 Richard D. Perry.

color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker