Lorenzo de la Hidalga (4 July 1810 – 1872) was a Spanish architect who spent most of his career in Mexico. Few of his buildings have survived, due to earthquakes, urban redevelopment, and other factors.

Biography

He was born in

Vitoria-Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1810. While still rather young, he enrolled at the

Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acade ...

in Madrid; graduating in 1836 with a degree in architecture. He then spent some time in Paris, where he was inspired by the Neo-Classical ideals that were prevalent at the time, as well as the latest concepts concerning structural function, and the works of contemporary architects. Family circumstances took him to Mexico in 1838, where he married Ana García Icazbalceta, elder sister of the noted historian

Joaquín García Icazbalceta Joaquín García Icazbalceta (August 21, 1824 – November 26, 1894) was a Mexican philologist and historian. He edited writings by Mexican writers who preceded him, wrote a biography of Juan de Zumárraga, and translated William H. Prescott's ''C ...

. They settled in Mexico City; soon becoming a part of the intellectual and cultural circles there. He also performed construction work on several of her family's estates. He was honored by the

Academia de San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the Zocalo, main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art school, art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was fo ...

, although he chose not to teach there. In terms of politics, he proved to be very adaptable, working for both President

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...

and Emperor

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

. In the 1840s, during the time he worked for the president, he was commissioned by a businessman, Francisco Arbeu, to build the Gran Teatro Santa Anna, which, after several name changes, came to be known as the Gran Teatro Nacional. In that same period, he built the market at the , and worked on a project to create a monument to the heroes of

Mexican Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

, to be placed in the

Plaza de la Constitución A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

. The project was never completed. Later, during the short-lived

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

, he was named , and worked on several more projects that were never brought to fruition, due to the unstable political situation. In 1872, he died in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. His works have not fared well. The Gran Teatro Nacional was demolished in 1901 to extend and widen the , and the Plaza de Volador was destroyed by a fire in 1870. The current

Tampico Cathedral The Immaculate Conception Cathedral (also Tampico Cathedral; es, Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción) is the main Catholic church in the Diocese of Tampico in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located opposite the Plaza de Armas, in the histori ...

is a restoration. The central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of his original structure collapsed in 1917, and one of its towers was destroyed by lightning in 1922. An aqueduct in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

survived until the earthquake of 2017. One of his few remaining original works is the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

Santa Teresa la Antigua Santa Teresa la Antigua is a former convent located in the historic center of Mexico City on Licenciado Primo de Verdad #6 just northeast of the city's main plaza. The complex ceased to be a convent in the latter part of the 19th century and ha ...

, a former convent which is now an art center. It was a replacement for the original, which had been toppled by an earthquake in 1845.

References

External links

Brief biography
@ Architectuba
El arquitecto Lorenzo de la Hidalga
by Elisa García Barragán, In: ''Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas'',

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidalga, Lorenzo de la 1810 births 1872 deaths Mexican architects Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni Spanish emigrants to Mexico People from Vitoria-Gasteiz