The imposing Catedral Metropolitana, one of Mexico’s most iconic buildings, is Latin America’s largest and oldest cathedral. Construction began in 1573 and was completed about 240 years later, thus the fusion of neoclassical, baroque and renaissance architectural styles. Spanish colonizers built the cathedral atop a sacred Aztec temple, the ruins of which can be seen at the nearby site of Templo Mayor.

Exterior

As was the case with the adjacent Palacio Nacional, the cathedral and its adjoining Metropolitan Tabernacle were built in part with recycled construction materials taken from Aztec ruins. Tezontle, a resistant red volcanic rock, was used to erect the tabernacle and other downtown colonial buildings in and around the Zócalo. As you gaze up at the tabernacle portal you’ll see detailed sculptures of the 12 apostles and a high relief of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Interior