Mountain Charm in the Heart of Colonial Mexico : San Miguel de Allende-- the entire city a national monument--has perfected the artistry of the patio.

In 1542, a Franciscan friar, Fray Juan de San Miguel, founded a mission here and named it after his patron saint. Today, this magnificent town is arguably the most colonial of any in Mexico, and the entire city has been designated a national monument.

Colonial architecture is always derivative, taking the best or most pleasing aspects of another order and adapting it to the cultural, climatic or aesthetic needs of its new country. The patio originated in ancient Greece and moved easily through Muslim North Africa to Andalusia in southern Spain during the seven-century Moorish occupation. Here it evolved into a florid, almost baroque profusion of flowering vines and potted blooms. Hernando Cortez brought the patio to Mexico with his conquistadors in 1519. And the patios of San Miguel, enchanting enclaves of introspection that they are, have achieved artistic heights found only in the renowned patios of Cordoba, Spain.

But in the 18th Century, the town was a tinderbox of conspiracy against Spanish rule, led by native son Capt. Ignacio Allende. It was in honor of Allende, who was also a leader in the fighting, that the town later received its present name. It also avoids confusion with several other San Miguels in Mexico.

San Miguel’s marvelous year-round weather and clear mountain air, along with the beauty of its cobbled and hilly streets, has drawn visitors from north of the border and abroad for decades. Many consider it the heart and soul of Mexico, untouched by the building frenzy of newer high-rise resorts.

The town’s life blood courses outward from the delightful little zocalo (main square), a bandstand at its center practically hidden by laurel trees. Lively by day, the zocalo is the scene of the evening paseo, when half the town seems to stroll beneath the arcades surrounding the square. With younger Mexicans, this is often a very stylized form of courtship.

Rising beside the zocalo are the pink facade and sand-castle spires of the parish church of La Parroquia. The builder, an unschooled stonemason named Zeferino Gutierres, was fascinated by postcards he had seen of Europe’s great cathedrals. So he took a bit of this and a bit of that, drew his creation in the sand with a stick for workmen to follow, and superimposed a Gothic-Spanish-Indian edifice on the 17th-Century church foundation. It’s fanciful but inspiring--a real delight.

During the past half century San Miguel has become a major cultural center, particularly for North Americans. Instituto Allende and the Bellas Artes cultural center are the leaders among a number of schools that attract students of writing, painting, sculpture, languages, theater, music, dance and handicrafts.

Many students and older North Americans have become addicted to the heavenly weather, aura of beauty, cultural milieu and laid-back lifestyle and have chosen to remain here. It would certainly be a painless adjustment to make.

Getting settled in: Casa Carmen is owned and run by a local woman and her American, ex-schoolteacher husband. It’s a pension in the truest sense, including breakfast and lunch in its room rates. The establishment is built around a large patio of orange and lemon trees, with loads of flowers and a typical fountain at the center. Simplicity rules the bedrooms and communal dining room. Full breakfasts are served and lunches always start with a sturdy soup and move on to either a Mexican or north-of-the-border main dish. Owners Natalie and Horace Mooring are fine folks, and steady guests return year after year.

Another large patio awaits at Posada Carmina, just a few steps from the zocalo. Every bedroom is different, some with hand-painted bedsteads, most with 18-foot ceilings and no frills. All meals are served here, either beneath trees, in the patio or along its arcades.

Villa Jacaranda is the prettiest of the lot and has the most amenities. Bedrooms are attractively furnished in a traditional style, some with hand-carved headboards and Mexican artifacts. The dining room has been honored through the years for excellent food. Jacaranda is famous for its margaritas. There’s an indoor-outdoor gazebo in the garden for breakfast or lunch, movies at night and affable owners.

Regional food and drink: Mexico’s chemical-free chicken is delicious, grilled or broiled, in tacos or as pollo mole in a sauce of bitter chocolate and chiles. Spain’s picadillos (bits of beef sauteed in herbs) are given added zip with Mexico’s wonderful peppers.

Mancha manteles de cerdo is a “tablecloth-stainer” pork stew with almost everything in the market used for its preparation: three or more kinds of chiles, walnuts, bay leaf, garlic, onions, cilantro, chicken stock, tomatillos and plenty of pork. Mexican wines are getting better and better, and the beer has always been the best, particularly cerveza oscura, the marvelous dark beer.

Good local dining: La Mesa del Matador (Calle Hernandez Macias 76) is dedicated to the corrida and good food, with the walls plastered with bullfight posters, pictures of every famous torero from Spain and Mexico and chairs emblazoned with their names. Fling a fang into a large T-bone steak here for $6.60, or a combination plate of chicken, chorizo, beef, lamb cutlets, rice and beans for the same. A variety of tacos, enchiladas and other such staples go for about $4, and nobody could possibly beat these prices. This little place is almost too colorful to believe.

Mama Mia (Calle Umaran 8) has been a fixture in town for years, serving good Italian food and providing a second living room for many foreign students. Dine in a courtyard under trees with Japanese lanterns and walls spilling with bougainvillea. Go for the pasta al pesto, fettuccine Alfredo, lasagna or pizza, all for about $7.50. There are also steaks and Mexican specialties at moderate cost, and everything is prepared in a great-looking open kitchen. This is a perfect place to hang out, and there’s live music in the evenings.

Posada Carmina (Cuna de Allende 7) has a solid reputation for its special, three-course luncheon menu for $6: hearty soup, roast beef, squid or pasta, dessert, coffee or tea. Tacos with shredded beef fillet ($5), or chicken tostadas ($3.50) are what have given the posada a large following of locals and visitors.

Going first-class: Casa de Sierra Nevada was built in 1580 as four colonial mansions that were joined into an archbishop’s residence. It was later converted into an exquisite hotel of 18 rooms and suites, most with working fireplaces, colonial-era furnishings and many with private terraces. Swiss owner Peter Wirth, whose family owns Rome’s Hotel Hassler-Villa Medici, has enlisted another Swiss couple, Maria and Markus Odermatt, to manage the villa. Since our last visit, there have been small but tasteful changes, like handmade lace on the sheets and pillow slips, towels and dining room napkins.

The dining room has a huge fireplace that knocks the chill off San Miguel’s mountain air in the evenings, plus a lovely crystal chandelier, profusion of flowers and a guitarist who plays so caressingly soft that he’s almost not there. The Mexican-continental menu is very imaginative, providing the best meals of our trip. Spain’s noble Rioja wines anchor an extensive wine list, and we can only conclude that the archbishop never had it so good.

On your own: Best observation point for viewing the zocalo’s always colorful goings-on is from a table at La Terraza--a long, rather classic building beside La Parroquia church. It’s also a great spot for a late breakfast or early evening drink.

Now just start walking and keep walking if you’d like to absorb the delights of San Miguel. We were particularly taken by the churches of Tercera Orden (1606) and San Francisco (1779), one rustic and somber, the other a wonder of colonial-baroque fancy, both near the town market.

Try to visit the Instituto Allende, a beautiful old hacienda, and the Bellas Artes cultural center in a former monastery.

We were fascinated by our trip to the Palacio de la Canal, former home of a 17th-Century noble family. Through this month, it is showing an enormous collection of 17th- to 20th-Century paintings and statuary depicting the Archangel San Miguel.

GUIDEBOOK

Visiting San Miguel de Allende

Getting there: Malaysian Airlines has recently inaugurated 747 service from Los Angeles to Mexico City, joining Delta, Mexicana, American, United, Continental and Aeromexico. From there, take the first-class Primera Plus bus line, which has airline seating, on to San Miguel. An advance-purchase, round-trip flight costs $411-$484. The bus ticket is about $20.

A few fast facts: Mexico’s peso recently sold for about 2,933 to the dollar, making each worth about .0003.

Where to stay: Casa Carmen (Correro 31; $50 double occupancy, with breakfast and lunch); Posada Carmina (Cuna de Allende 7; $27 double); Villa Jacaranda (Aldama 53; $86 double); Casa de Sierra Nevada (Hospicio 35; $120 double, suite $140).

For more information: Call the Mexican Government Tourist Office at (310) 203-8191, or write (10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 224, Los Angeles 90067) for a brochure on San Miguel. For a brochure on Mexico’s colonial towns and other information on travel throughout the country, call (800) 44-MEXICO.