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Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque, the most important hydraulic work of the viceroyalty, is inscribed on the World Heritage List, becoming the 33rd Mexican site |
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Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque, the most important hydraulic work of the viceroyalty in the American continent. |
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The World Heritage Committee, at its 39th session held in Bonn, approved the nomination of the “Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System”, inscribed under criteria i, ii and iv
Mexico continues to be the country in the American continent with the highest number of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List: 27 Cultural, 5 Natural and one Mixed.
5 July 2015/ UNESCO Office in Mexico
The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque, proposed as a Cultural Heritage Site, was inscribed on the World Heritage List during the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in the city of Bonn, Germany.
Named after Friar Francisco de Tembleque, the aqueduct was built between 1554 and 1571, and constitutes a hydraulic system located between the states of Hidalgo and Mexico, in the Mexican Central Plateau. It is considered the most important hydraulic engineering work built during the viceroyalty in the American continent, for the purpose of providing water to the towns of Otompan, presently Otumba and the Congregation of All Saints, presently Zempoala, as well as many towns located along the way.
The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque extends over a distance of 48.22 kilometres–mostly underground. There are six arcades, the most important being the Main Arcade or the Monumental Arcade of Tepeyahualco, which bridges the Papalote River near Santiago Tepeyahualco.
During the session, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recognized the Outstanding Universal Value of the Aqueduct of Padre Templeque, given that it is:
• A hydraulic system that represents an outstanding example. Its Main Arcade, in Tepeyahualco, reaches a total height of 39.65 meters, with a central arch 33.84 meters high, making it the highest single-level arcade built at the time.
• A work begun by Padre Tembleque and built with the support of local communities, becoming a unique example of the ingenious fusion of traditional Mesoamerican and European construction, which combined the mestizo traditions with the water conduction models developed during the Roman era.
Accordingly, the site was inscribed under the following criteria: i. It represents a masterpiece of the humankind’s creative genius; ii. It is the manifestation of an important exchange of human values during a certain period or specific cultural area, in the development of architecture or technology, monumental arts, urban planning or landscape design; and iv. It is an eminently representative example of a type of construction or architectural or technological or landscape complex, which illustrates one or several significant periods in the history of humankind.
With this inscription, Mexico reinforces its position as the country in the American continent with the highest number of properties on the World Heritage List: 26 Cultural, 5 Natural and one Mixed, occupying the sixth place worldwide.
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Related Link(s): World Heritage |
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