This archeological site is within the modern municipality of San Pablo Villa de Mitla. While Monte Albán was most important as the political center, Mitla was the main religious center. The name Mitla is derived from the Nahuatl name Mictlán, which was the place of the dead or underworld. What makes Mitla unique among Mesoamerican sites is the elaborate and intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover tombs, panels, friezes and even entire walls.
The Church or North Group lies at the entrance to the site. In the 16th century, the Spanish built the Church of San Pablo here, which remains on top of a large pre-Hispanic platform which serves as the church atrium. It was believed that in this group lived the lord and lady of the underworld, so the church was built here to keep the “devil” from escaping.
To the south of the Church Group is the Columns Group.
Entrance to the Palace at Mitla.
By Uploaded into English Wikipedia by en:User:Bobak Ha'Eri - English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7947681
The main distinguishing feature of Mitla is the intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that profusely adorn the walls of both the Church and Columns groups. The geometric patterns called grecas in Spanish seen on some of the stone walls and door frames are made from thousands of cut, polished stones that are fitted together without mortar. The pieces were set against a stucco background painted red. The stones are held in place by the weight of the stones that surround them
All textual descriptions and the image of the entrance to the Palace are from Wikipedia>Mitla
Detail of fretwork on joining walls.
Mexico meets the Bauhaus
In 1933 Josef and Anni Albers escaped Nazi Germany and settled in North Carolina. From there they made fourteen trips to Mexico documenting pre-Columbian ruins at Monte Alban and Mitla. Albers organized his photos of the geometric designs at Mitla into serial grids.
Albers’ photographs and the paintings they inspired were part of a recent exhibition at the Guggenheim, Josef Albers in Mexico, in 1981.
Josef Albers: Untitled (Mitla, Mexico), 1956
