Silver city in the mountains — baroque on a hillside
Taxco is Mexico's silver capital — a steep colonial town where 300 silver workshops produce jewellery sold across the world, the pink-quarried Santa Prisca church dominates a hilltop plaza, and cobbled streets tumble so sharply that white VW Beetles serve as the only licensed taxis. William Spratling revived the silver craft in the 1930s, and the town has been a craft pilgrimage site ever since.
Spanish conquistadors discovered massive silver deposits here in 1522, and Taxco quickly became one of New Spain's richest mining centres. José de la Borda, who struck the richest vein in the 18th century, funded the flamboyant Santa Prisca church as thanks to God — its twin towers remain the finest Churrigueresque baroque façade in Mexico.