Izamal Pueblo Magico Yucatan Mexico Yellow Pope John Paul II

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Residents of Izamal, a small, tidy and charming town near Merida, are very, very fond of yellow (as the photos, below, prove). So much so that Izamal is known in Mexico as “the yellow town” since so many building are painted yellow to match the central church, Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua.

You can see why Izamal has earned Pueblo Magico status.

The church and Izamal itself have been important pilgrimage sites since the 1500s thanks, in part, to a spate of “miraculous” healings which were simultaneously attributed to the basilica’s Virgin Mary statue and to the Mayan god of healing, Itzam Na, to which the Mayans built their own pilgrimage shrine in Izamal. The town and it’s church remain important and even Pope John Paul II paid a visit in 1993.

The exterior of the huge Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua which Pope John Paul II visited in 1993.

Inside the huge Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua which Pope John Pual II visited in 1993.

In 2002 Izamal was named a Pueblo Magico, joining a select group of Mexican towns which the government has deemed architecturally and culturally important.

In addition to the overall charm and yellowness of the palce, Izamal is also home to Mayan ruins just steps from the main plaza. The main pyramid to Sun God Kinch Kak Mo is enormous with a base that sprawls over two acres with 10 levels of construction on top of it which some archaeologists consider to be the highest Mayan structure in the Yucatan. The view from the top was certainly impressive.