Salvatierra lies in the Valley of Guatzindeo, meaning Place of Beautiful Vegetation. It was the first settlement in Guanajuato to be granted the status of city (in 1644) and is a rich source of fine civil and religious architecture, as exemplified by its haciendas, bridges, convents and grand houses. Smiling, shy and provincial, Salvatierra receives visitors with the green innocence of its fields, its surprising wealth of architecture and the sheltering blue of its skies, the whole enclosed in a delightfully temperate climate. The River Lerma shares the city, gently curving out of the southeast into the northwest. To the south it slips down a waterfall, dotting the area with pools in the shade of the savine trees that blanket the land.

The secular clergy initiated the building project that today is considered one of the most beautiful churches in the Archbishopric of Michoacán - the Diocesan Sanctuary, whose altars are the work of the architects Manuel Tolsá and Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras.

In the shadow of this architectural monument lies a cluster of buildings in the same enchanting style. The houses abound with patios surrounded by rows of arches where the visitor is enveloped by the perfume of the lemon trees. Further out, the area is strewn with countless haciendas, whose vestigial presence gives evidence of the prodigious generosity of the land in this area. Salvatierra, with almost 300 buildings of recognized historical importance, along with its own singular position in Mexican history, has been recognized for its contributions to history, culture and architecture as First City of the State and Third Colonial City of the State.