Metropolitan Cathedral

In front of you rises the Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest in the Americas in colonial times and a summary of almost three centuries of architecture. It took so long to build that Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical all share its façade.

1Three centuries of building

The first main church, far more modest, went up soon after the conquest using stones from the Mexica sacred precinct. The cathedral you see was begun around 1573, on a plan associated with Claudio de Arciniega, and advanced as fast as funds and the problems of an old lake bed allowed. It was dedicated in 1656 and consecrated in 1667, still unfinished. The towers, with their bell-shaped tops, are the work of José Damián Ortiz de Castro, and the Valencian architect and sculptor Manuel Tolsá added the finishing touches: the dome, the balustrades, the clock and the statues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The work was declared complete in 1813.

2The Sagrario, a church beside a church

To your right, attached to the cathedral, you'll see a building with a far busier façade: the Sagrario Metropolitano, built between 1749 and 1768 by Lorenzo Rodríguez. Its portals are among the finest examples of the estípite baroque, with pilasters shaped like inverted pyramids and an explosion of carving.

To understand the Cathedral you have to read it from the bottom up: each level is a different century.

In 1987 the Cathedral and the whole Historic Centre were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.

3What to look for

• The bell-shaped tops of the towers.
• The clock and the three virtues by Tolsá crowning the central section.
• The Sagrario, on the right, with its estípite baroque.