UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will consider the city of San Miguel de Allende and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve for inclusion on its World Heritage List, when it meets for its 32nd session in Quebec, Canada, from July 2-10.

Forty-seven nations will submit candidates for 13 natural and 34 cultural sites.

The San Miguel proposal also includes the Sanctuary of Jesus de Nazareno de Atotonilco. This baroque church is sometimes referred to as the Mexican Sistine Chapel because of its stunning murals by Antonio Martinez Pocasangre. 

Justifying San Miguel as a candidate for outstanding universal value, UNESCO says: “San Miguel de Allende has preserved the authenticity of its cultural and aesthetic values throughout time, thanks to the established equilibrium between its patrimony, urban spaces, cultural traditions and its functions as a city.”

Approval for San Miguel and the butterfly sanctuary would increase to 11 the number of Mexican sites or cities included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

To date, UNESCO’s 1972 Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects 851 properties of “outstanding universal value” in 141 countries.

Among the candidates this year are five countries that have no sites inscribed on the list: Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, San Marino, Saudi Arabia and Vanuatu.

This year’s UNESCO session coincides with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Quebec City.