Mexico is a country that is well known for its beaches, which are one of its main tourist attractions, as well as for its capital and other areas where architectural elements of ancient cultures are preserved. It is a country that can also be traveled in a different way. For example, a good option is to do it through its cathedrals because there are them of great beauty and different styles, ranging from Baroque to Neo-Byzantine without forgetting the Neoclassical.
Cathedrals
Cathedrals are one of the ways to understand the historical and architectural legacy of this country, which is always among the most visited in the world each year. In addition, there are quite a few options to visit and tour.
One of them, obviously, is in Mexico City. It is the Metropolitan Cathedral , which is located on the ruins of the ancient Temple of the Sun. This building, which is located in the center of the city, began to be built in 1524 when Hernán Cortés laid the first stone in this place where the Aztec temple of Tenochtitlán was located. This cathedral is not only important for this history, but because it is also considered one of the most important works of colonial architecture, as well as the peak of the Baroque. To this is added that it is the largest cathedral in the entire country.
And another of the most important is the Guadalajara Cathedral , which is in Guadalajara and is considered one of the most beautiful in Mexico, apart from being a standard for the many styles it combines. In this case, it was King Felipe II of Spain who ordered it to be built in 1561. Since that date it has had several modifications due to earthquakes. For example, the towers you see today date from the 19th century because the originals were damaged by an earthquake in 1818.
In the list you cannot miss the Cathedral of Matehuala , which is in the city of the same name. It is striking to see its blue rock walls, reminiscent of the French church of Saint Joseph Brotteaux in Lyon, which served as the inspiration for its construction. Among its styles, the Neo-Gothic and the Neo-Byzantine stand out.
The route also takes us to the Cathedral of Morelia , which is made of pink quarry and is considered one of the highest cathedrals on the continent, since its towers are more than 65 meters high. The Cathedral of Mérida is also part of this route and a hole is made for various reasons. The first of these is that it was the first cathedral to be erected in all of America after Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It is thus the oldest in Mexico and one of the most mysteries and legends surround it.
The tour takes us to make a stop at the Cathedral of Monterrey , which is another of the most popular in the country and in which it is worth seeing the combination of different architectural styles such as the baroque present on its facade and the neoclassical.
Finally, we also have to talk about other cathedrals such as the Puebla Cathedral , which is very striking for its 69-meter-high side towers, being the highest in Mexico, as well as the Oaxaca Cathedral , which is inspired by the one in Puebla. and in Mexico City. Very striking is its Baroque style doorway, which is framed between the two towers.
We close the tour with the Cathedral of Cuernavaca , which is part of the set of First monasteries of the sixteenth century on the slopes of Popocateptl -recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO-, and the Cathedral of Zacatecas , which is a clear example of the Mexican baroque style that, in addition, is built in pink quarry. Significant is its main door in the churrigueresque or ultra-baroque style.