Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral

The largest cathedral in the Americas, facing the Zócalo with two bell-capped towers beside the red-tezontle Sagrario.

The cathedral stands on the former sacred precinct of the Aztecs, close to the Templo Mayor, and builders reused stones from the destroyed Aztec temple in its early church. It has five naves, three main portals, a central dome, 16 chapels and about 150 windows.

A building of many styles

Because construction lasted so long, nearly all the main architects, painters and sculptors of New Spain worked on it at some point, beginning with Claudio de Arciniega, who drew on Spanish Gothic cathedrals. The result mixes Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Churrigueresque and Neoclassical styles. Two towers hold 25 bells, and the cathedral has two of the largest 18th-century organs in the Americas.

A church that sinks

Mexico City was built on soft lakebed clay, so heavy buildings sink. The cathedral was set on a solid foundation, but dropping water tables and uneven sinking put it on the World Monuments Fund's list of the 100 most endangered sites. Restoration work beginning in the 1990s stabilised it, and it left the list in 2000. A fire in 1967 also damaged the inside, and the repairs uncovered important hidden documents and artwork.

A stage for history

The cathedral has been the scene of big moments in Mexican history. Agustin I and his wife were crowned here in 1822, and Maximilian I and Empress Carlota were later proclaimed emperor and empress. Until 1925 several heroes of independence, such as Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Maria Morelos, were buried here. A crypt beneath still holds the remains of many former archbishops.

On the globe

The model shows the big cathedral with two bell towers beside the Sagrario in red stone. Look for the two towers.