From the outside, the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco is plain: thick whitewashed walls, a modest bell tower, a dusty plaza in a small village on the dry plateau of Guanajuato. Step inside and every surface erupts in colour. The church was founded in the eighteenth century by the priest Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro as a place of penitence and spiritual retreat, and its walls and ceilings were covered over decades with murals by the painter Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, full of saints, angels, Biblical scenes and verses. People call it the Sistine Chapel of Mexico, and the comparison is less exaggerated than it sounds. It is listed by UNESCO together with the nearby town of San Miguel de Allende.
Atotonilco also has a place in Mexico's national story. In September 1810, at the very start of the War of Independence, the priest Miguel Hidalgo and his followers passed through here and took a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe from the sanctuary, which became the first flag of the insurgent army. Pilgrims still come in large numbers, especially during Lent and Holy Week, when the retreat house fills with penitents.
The ride from San Miguel de Allende, about eleven kilometres away, follows a two-lane road across a high, arid plain of mesquite, cactus and farmland, with mountains on the horizon. The altitude is close to two thousand metres, so mornings are cool and afternoons hot and bright. Watch for topes, the speed bumps that appear without warning at village entrances, as well as dogs, livestock and slow trucks. The name Atotonilco means place of hot water, and the area has several thermal spas where you can soak after a day in the saddle.
San Miguel de Allende is the place for fuel, food and lodging: a colonial town of pink stone churches and cobbled streets, popular with artists and foreign residents, with excellent restaurants. Guanajuato, the state capital, lies about an hour to the west through the mountains, a winding and scenic ride. Come early in the day, before the tour buses, and spend a quiet moment under those painted ceilings.