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Historical Interests
The most interesting historical site in
Mexico City is the Zócalo (The
Main Square) where numerous events took place during the course of Mexican
history. The Zócalo was often visited by Viceroys during the colonial period and
by presidents after the War of Independence; the Emperor Maximilian was also a
frequent visitor. The whole square is surrounded by some extraordinary
architecture, including the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace.
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Museums
The Federal District more museums than anywhere else in the country. These
museums contain samples from pre Hispanic as well as colonial cultures, they
have displays of the history of the city and collections of modern art. There
are also Nature museums and those dedicated to Mexican handicrafts. The most
outstanding are the National Museum of Anthropology, the Frida Kahlo Museum, the
History Museum in Chapultepec Castle, the Modern Art Museum, the Museum of
Natural History, the Rufino Tamayo (Art) Museum, the Papalote Children’s Museum,
the Mexico City Museum, the Franz Mayer Museum, the Diego Rivera Museum, the
National Art Museum and the San Diego Gallery of Vice Regal Art.
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Archaeology
Apart from some archeological zones in the surrounding
areas where traces of the pre Hispanic civilization have been found, there are
three essential archeological sites in Mexico City: The Templo Mayor (the Main
Temple) is a series of pyramidal constructions built one over the other, where
the monolith of the Mexica goddess, Coyolxauhqui, was found. The Plaza de las
Tres Culturas (The Plaza of the Three Cultures) in Tlatelolco shows three very
important facets of Mexican architecture: the pre Hispanic, the colonial and the
modern. The pyramid at Cuicuilco in the south of the city is a curious circular
construction half hidden by the lava the Xitle volcano spewed forth more than
three thousand years ago.
Architecture
Architectural works in varying styles were built in the city during the pre
Hispanic, colonial and modern eras. The period of the Spanish colony was when
sober, baroque style mansions, palaces and sumptuous churches were built, and
some of the houses belonging to famous counts and marquises were decorated with
carvings and ornaments that reflected their owners’ social status. Great
palaces, such as the
National
Palace, were built as offices for the Vice Regal government and Catholic
churches were constructed for the faithful, including one of the most important
in America: the Metropolitan Cathedral. Even hospitals, such as the Hospital de
Jesús (the Hospital of Jesus), were built in an artistic style that gave them a
lofty grandeur.
After the country gained its independence, the neoclassic style took over and
changed the look of many of the buildings, thus giving the city an air of
elegance. A case in question is the Palacio de Minería (The Mining Palace) and
the current Museo Nacional de Arte (The National Art Museum). A “Frenchified”
architectural style and (a short time later) art deco came into fashion in the
new Roma and Juárez residential districts during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz,
enriching the city center with such buildings as the Palacio de Bellas Artes
(The Palace of Fine Arts) and the Post Office building.
During the modern era, skyscrapers went up in the Polanco, Anzures and Santa Fe
districts and along great avenues such as Avenida Insurgentes where the World
Trade Center is located.
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