Map of the Zacatecas Intendancy

This map, which was was drawn up in 1799, shows the topography and the decorative elements that accompanied the cartographies made during the colonial era.

The map is embellished with symbols, for example at the top we see two angels, one is playing bugle with one hand and in the other, holding a shield with a crown and two laurels. Inside, you also see the image of the Virgin Mary and four soldiers that are accompanied by the sun and the moon.

On the sides we see more decorations that mark the degrees of latitude and longitude of the location.

The town is distinguished from the north to south, in the background we see the Bufa Hill, which is widely recognized and on its skirts sits the church.

The regions are explained on the right hand side with numbers ranging from 1 to 36, for example: 1 is Mexicapa, 5 is La Veracruz, and 9 is Pozos de la Bufa

14 royal houses and Plaza Mayor, 21 Hospital of San Juan de Dios

30 is identified by the girls school and the Villareal squrare and number 33 identifies "camino a las minas" and 36 is the Garita de Barrio nuevo and camino para tierra dentro."

At the bottom there is another angel holding a banner that indicates the scales and dimensions.

Finally, there is the description of the city, its name and the dioceses to which it belongs. There are also astrological elements added and the inhabits that lived there according to the ecclesiastical census of 1975.

On the edge of the map, we see the name of Bernardo Portugal who was the mayor of Zacatecas and the author of this map. It was drawn up in order to prove that it was the best place to build a grain market.