PLEASE NOTE: ACCESS TO THE BELFRY IS OFF-LIMITS SINCE THE EARTHQUAKE OF 2017 SINCE THE GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS IT DANGEROUS.
It took 240 years to build the Metropolitan Cathedral (located downtown on the Zocalo), which is why the most important church of the archdiocese of Mexico reflects such a wide variety of styles. The architectural history of this monumental structure (the largest cathedral in the Americas) and the story behind the many saints and chapels it houses are fascinating. We will explore the 14 chapels and 5 principal altars of this major landmark, and discuss the most recent attempts to solve the structural problems this building faces as it continues to sink several inches per year due to the spongy swampland it is built on.
This 3-hour tour is given from an architectural and historical perspective, basically narrating not only the story of the construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary as it is formally known, but also the complex task the Spaniards took on to evangelize the “heathen Indians” they found when they conquered the territory.