Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left
Altar, Templo de la Enseñanza
Right
Catedral Metropolitana
Churches
!
Antigua Basílica de
columns and a marble
carving of Santo
Domingo de Guzmán
above the entrance. The
main altar was created
by Manuel Tolsá. A side
chapel contains colorful
scarves left by those
who have experienced a
personal miracle.
d
República de Brasil and
Belisario Domínguez • Map Q1
Guadalupe
This basilica honors the
Virgin of Guadalupe,
Mexico's patron saint. In
1531 the Virgin appeared
to a native, Juan Diego,
requesting a church be
built there. Diego
convinced the local priest
by showing him a cape
bearing the image of the
Virgin. Antigua Basílica de
Guadalupe was built in 1709. The
cape is displayed in the new basil-
ica, built in 1976
(see pp30-31)
.
@
Catedral Metropolitana
Antigua Basílica de
Guadalupe
$
Templo de la Enseñanza
Nine fabulous ultra-Baroque
altarpieces fill the interior of this
small church built in the 1770s.
Angels surround the
Virgin of El
Pilar
in the exceptional fresco
adorning the high-domed ceiling
above the golden main altar
featuring statues of saints. The
elaborate late-Baroque façade is
unusually narrow and tilts
backward from uneven settling.
d
Donceles 104 • Map Q2 • 7:30-8pm
Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun
The largest colonial cathedral
in the Americas dominates the
Zócalo in the center of Mexico
City. The Spanish Baroque
façade, with 18 bells in its twin
bell towers, only hints at the
splendor inside
(see pp12-13)
.
%
Iglesia y Ex-Convento de
San Francisco
One of the best Churrigueresque
façades in the city adorns the
remnants of the High Convent of
Our Holy Father St. Francis of
Mexico. Once the largest monas-
tery in the city, it was largely
destroyed after the Reform Laws
were passed in the late 1850s
(see p39)
. Today the lovely main
church has a Neo-Classical altar,
stained-glass windows, and fine
wood sculptures by Miguel Ángel
Soto.
d
Madero 7 • Map P3
Templo de Santo Domingo
£
Templo de Santo Domingo
The first Dominican church in
the city was built here in 1530.
The current Baroque church was
built in 1736 with ornately carved
48
