shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMexico

in the central Mexican highlands, north of Mexico City

Santiago de Querétaro

Name: Santiago de Querétaro — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the colour pink stone holds at dusk.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The state capital of Querétaro, set on a high plateau where the Sierra Gorda begins to rise. The historic centre is laid out around plazas of cantera rosa, the local pink-rose limestone the colonial buildings were cut from. An aqueduct of seventy-four sandstone arches runs along the eastern edge of the old town, walking distance from the cathedral. The city is quieter than its neighbours to the south, the kind of place travellers find on the way to somewhere else and then stay an extra day for.

from the studio

— bring it home

Santiago de Querétaro, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Santiago de Querétaro

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Santiago de Querétaro sits at roughly 1,820 metres in the central Mexican highlands, about 215 kilometres north-west of Mexico City. It is the capital of Querétaro state and the head of a metropolitan area of just over one million people. The Historic Monuments Zone, with its grid of colonial plazas, churches, and convent buildings, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The city was founded in 1531 and went on to play a decisive role in Mexican history, hosting the drafting of the 1917 Constitution that still governs the country today.

— informed by UNESCO, Wikipedia

— the stone

The signature material of the old town is cantera rosa, a rose-pink volcanic stone quarried locally and used for facades, fountains, and church portals from the 17th century on. The most photographed structure built from it is Los Arcos, the aqueduct completed in 1738 to carry water from La Cañada into the city: seventy-four arches running 1,280 metres along the eastern edge of the centro. The Templo de Santa Rosa de Viterbo and the Cathedral of San Felipe Neri are cut from the same warm pink sandstone, which deepens to coral under evening light.

— informed by Wikipedia: Aqueduct of Querétaro

— the visit

The centro histórico is walkable and largely pedestrianised after dark, with the Plaza de Armas and the Jardín Zenea anchoring the evening paseo. Most visitors give the city a full day and a night: a morning at the Museo Regional in the former convent of San Francisco, an afternoon along Andador 5 de Mayo, dinner near the Jardín Guerrero, then a slow walk under the aqueduct as the lighting comes up. The climate is mild year-round, with the rainy season running June through September. The nearest large airport is Querétaro Intercontinental (QRO), 30 kilometres east of the centre.

— informed by Wikipedia: Querétaro Intercontinental Airport

— where

Mexico · Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro

— elevation

1,820 m · 5,971 ft

— position

20.5888° N · 100.3899° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

65 km NW

San Miguel de Allende

colonial town

60 km E

Bernal

pueblo mágico

120 km NE

Sierra Gorda Biosphere

biosphere reserve

Santiago de Querétaro

San Miguel de Allende

Bernal

Sierra Gorda Biosphere

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Santiago de Querétaro — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

It is the capital of Querétaro state, in the central Mexican highlands at about 1,820 metres elevation, roughly 215 kilometres north-west of Mexico City on the way to the Bajío.

UNESCO inscribed the Historic Monuments Zone in 1996 for its remarkably intact colonial street grid, its civic and religious architecture in pink cantera stone, and its role in Mexican constitutional history.

Los Arcos is an 18th-century stone aqueduct of seventy-four sandstone arches, completed in 1738, running about 1,280 metres along the eastern edge of the old town. It still defines the city's skyline.

Most of the colonial buildings use cantera rosa, a local rose-pink volcanic stone. It reads warm at noon and turns deep coral under the floodlights at night.

October through May is dry and mild. June through September brings afternoon thunderstorms, which leave the stone saturated and the evenings cool.

Querétaro Intercontinental Airport (QRO) sits about 30 kilometres east of the city. By road from Mexico City, the drive on the 57D toll highway takes about two and a half hours.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well as a gift for someone from the city or who studied at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. The aqueduct and pink-stone palette are immediately recognisable. A Small or a Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as a considered piece.

The warm coral and ochre palette suits Spanish-colonial interiors, Mexican-modern rooms, and warm-neutral spaces with terracotta or unglazed-clay accents. It also holds its own against jewel-tone maximalist walls.

Yes. The pink-stone tone fits the broader move toward warm earth palettes and away from cool grey. It pairs naturally with linen, oak, and unbleached cotton.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads from across the room; a 4-tile Mural carries the wall; a 9-tile Mural becomes the room's centre. Above a console, a Medium or a 4-tile Mural sits well.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical installations in showers, backsplashes, and bathrooms. The Glossy finish is best kept to dry walls and framed pieces.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so there is no painted layer to wear through.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, curated by Reid Wender. We do not licence the work to third parties.

— if this one stayed with you