Mérida, Yucatán — The Mexican government has formally transferred custody of the Ex Ateneo Peninsular, a federally owned historic building in Mérida’s city center, to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to continue restoration, conservation and research at the site.
The transfer, published Tuesday in Mexico’s official gazette, complies with the General Law of National Assets and is meant to ensure the proper use of the federation’s real estate holdings, officials said.
Culture Secretary Claudia Curiel de Icaza said the full assignment of the building to INAH will strengthen its public function and protection, and will expand opportunities for research, conservation and promotion of Yucatán’s cultural heritage.
The property covers more than 6,532 square meters. INAH already operates ground-floor facilities dedicated to artifacts recovered during salvage work for the Maya Train project, including a storage center for pre-Hispanic objects, specialized laboratories for analyzing archaeological materials, and a museum focused on the project’s findings and preservation efforts.
Officials said the building’s upper floors will now be used for new initiatives related to research, legal protection and cultural outreach.
The Ex Ateneo Peninsular is one of the most representative historic monuments in Mérida’s center. Its origins date to the 16th century, when it was associated with the city’s bishopric and later the Archdiocese of Yucatán. It remained under church authority until 1915, when then-Governor Salvador Alvarado gave it a secular role as a public cultural center and renamed it Ex Ateneo Peninsular.
