Its foundation arose from the need to protect and take care of the travelers going between Zacatecas and the Capital City of the then called 'Kingdom of New Spain,' carrying mainly minerals, harassed by the native nomads. Around 1542, Friar Juan de San Miguel established near the present city, a village named Itzcuinapan, devoting the archangel Saint Michael as patron saint. That old village had severe troubles with the water supply, apart from the continuous and violent attacks from the Chichimec Indians from nearby areas. Due to that, the inhabitants of San Miguel village moved the settlements some kilometers to the northeast; the place where in 1555, by petition of the Viceroy Luis de Velasco, Mr. Angel de Villafañe founded the Village 'San Miguel el Grande.'

Built on the foothills, its urban structure had to adapt to the topographical aspects of the land, although trying to respect a reticular shape as a chessboard. In the long run, this aspect allowed it to grow in a reasonable and balanced way that, after several centuries, has kept its original character. Within this attractive colonial image, there are several really remarkable palaces of those times. Among the most outstanding ones, we have the Municipal Palace, the old consistorial house, built in 1736. The house where Ignacio Allende was born, which is now the Regional Museum, an example of the baroque architecture of the city, specially its portal.

The city also has architectonic treasures of an extraordinary value, such as the church and convent of Santo Domingo, a sober building from 1737. The convent 'Leal de la Concepcion,' which is now the Cultural Center, a construction notable by its huge yard; it was built in the XVIII by the architect Francisco Martinez Gudiño. Very close to the city is the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, a construction from the XIII century, with sober proportions and a look of fortress, in whose inner part there are paintings from the same century.