CATEDRAL METROPOLITANA DE MEXICO

Mexicans consider it to be the most impressive Catholic monument in America. This imposing cathedral was built on the Plaza de la Constitución. The variety of its architectural styles stems from the fact that construction began in 1532 and was not completed until 1813, first as a church at the instigation of Hernan Cortes, then as a cathedral at the behest of Charles V and Pope Clement VII. Its façade combines Baroque and Renaissance styles. In addition to the fifteen heavily decorated chapels, the interior boasts a superb Churrigueresque altar. Sadly, many of the paintings and sculptures were destroyed by fire in 1967. Its twin neoclassical towers, 64 meters high, support sixteen bells, the largest of which, the Santa Maria de Guadalupe, weighs twelve tons.

The cathedral was built on top of a pyramid from the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, using the latter's stones as support. This was a common practice of the Spanish conquistadors to facilitate the evangelization of the indigenous people. With the formerly swampy ground not very stable, and the cathedral's choir perhaps resting on the top of the pyramid, the whole edifice has a tendency to topple over. A pendulum is used to measure the inclination. The monument is now controlled by computer-controlled jacks to balance it in real time.