Iturbide Palace

On Calle Madero, notice a tall, narrow façade of red tezontle and grey stone, with two atlantes that seem to hold up the doorway. This is the Iturbide Palace, considered the masterpiece of baroque civil architecture in Mexico City.

1A wedding present

It was built between 1779 and 1785, to designs by the architect Francisco Guerrero y Torres, for the marriage of Mariana Berrio de la Campa y Cos, daughter of the Counts of San Mateo de Valparaíso, to Pedro de Moncada. The counts were among the richest families in the viceroyalty, and they wanted a residence without equal: taller than its neighbours and with a great courtyard surrounded by arches.

2The emperor's balcony

Once independence was won in 1821, the palace was offered as a residence to Agustín de Iturbide, commander of the Army of the Three Guarantees. In May 1822 a crowd acclaimed him emperor in front of this façade, and Congress ratified it the next day. The empire lasted less than a year: Iturbide abdicated in March 1823. The building kept his name for good.

From the central balcony, Iturbide greeted the crowd calling for him to be crowned.

For much of the 19th century it was the Hotel Iturbide, one of the best known in the capital. The bank Banamex restored it thoroughly between 1965 and 1972, and since 2004 it has been a cultural centre showing Mexican folk art and the bank's collection.

3What to look for

• The two atlantes of the doorway.
• The central balcony, scene of the 1822 acclamation.
• The turrets and gallery crowning the façade.