The Palace of Iturbide (1779 to 1785) is a large palatial residence located in the historic center of

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 ...

Madero Street Francisco I. Madero Avenue, commonly known as simply Madero Street, is a geographically and historically significant pedestrian street of Mexico City and a major thoroughfare of the historic city center. It has an east–west orientation from Z� ...

#17. It was built by the Count of San Mateo Valparaíso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name ''“Palace of Iturbide”'' because Agustín de Iturbide lived there and accepted the crown of the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...

(as Agustin I) at the palace after

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Today, the restored building houses the Fomento Cultural Banamex; it has been renamed the Palacio de Cultura Banamex.

History

This residence was constructed by Miguel de Berrio y Saldívar, Count of San Mateo Valparaíso and Marquis of Jaral de Berrio. Berrio y Saldívar's fortune was based in mining and livestock. He also served as the mayor of Mexico City. He purportedly built the palace in an elaborate way to equal the sum of his daughter's dowry, approximately 100,000 pesos, in order to stop his new son-in-law, the Marquis of Moncada of

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, from squandering his daughter's wealth. It was built as a replica of the royal palace of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. This couple's son, the grandson of the home's builder, preferred not to live in the palace but offered it for the use of visiting dignitaries, such as viceroy Félix Calleja and later Agustín de Iturbide. From this palace's balcony, Iturbide accepted the offer to be Mexico's first emperor after independence from Spain. During his reign (1821–1823), he lived here, using the house as the royal palace. After the Conquest, the site had been part of land granted by the Spanish Crown to Gonzalo Juárez de Córdoba. Until the 17th century, the site was a convent for the Sisters of Saint Brigit, until they sold the land to Berrio y Saldívar.

Design

L'Illustration 1862 gravure Palais de l'Empereur Iturbide

This Mexican Baroque building was designed and begun by

Francisco Antonio Guerrero y Torres Francisco Antonio de Guerrero y Torres ( ''Villa de Guadalupe'', 1727 – ''Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad de México'', 1792) was a Mexican Baroque architect who was prominent in Mexico City, the capital of New Spain. He built several palaces and ...

and finished by his brother-in-law Agustín Duran between 1779 and 1785. The building has three floors and a mezzanine, showing Italian influence in its Baroque design. Its façade of

tezontle Tezontle ( es, tezontle) is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide. Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock. Uses Construction ...

and cantera stone is flanked by two fortified towers at the ends of the façade. It has a central gallery or

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

, which is now closed to the public. The façade is decorated with carved stone that features organic and geometric motifs such as flowers, small double-tailed mermaids and graceful male figures. Inside, the porch has a vaulted roof. A large archway leads to the courtyard decorated with geometric figures. The courtyard is surrounded by eighteen arches supported by Tuscan columns.

Later uses

Early in the 19th century, the building housed the College of Mining. It was remodeled in 1855 for use as a hotel, serving that function for more than 100 years. In 1965, the building was purchased and restored by the National Bank of Mexico. In 1972, it became the home of the Banamex Cultural Foundation (Fomento Cultural Banamex). The foundation spent two years from 2002 to 2004 doing significant restoration work on the building. It reopened the structure for use as the “Palacio de Cultura Banamex.” It hosts numerous temporary art exhibitions, as well as art workshops for adults and children. File:Mexico to-day, a country with a great future; and a glance at the prehistoric remains and antiquities of the Montezumas (1883) (14782720325).jpg, Facade of the Palace of Iturbide in 1883 by Thomas Brocklehurst. File:Patio del Hotel Iturbide (No. 175), 1880s.jpg, Courtyard of the Palace of Iturbide in 1880 by

Abel Briquet Alfred Saint-Ange Briquet (30 December 1833, Paris – 1926, Mexico) was a French pioneer of photography, particularly in Mexico. Biography Briquet became a photographer in Paris in 1854. He taught photography at École spéciale militaire ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palace Of Iturbide Palaces in Mexico Baroque palaces in Mexico Houses in Mexico City Museums in Mexico City Art museums and galleries in Mexico Contemporary art galleries in Mexico Historic house museums in Mexico Historic center of Mexico City Imperial residences in Mexico Royal residences in Mexico Mexican monarchy Landmarks in Mexico City History of Mexico City Houses completed in 1785 1785 establishments in New Spain Museums established in 1972 1972 establishments in Mexico Mexican War of Independence Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico

History

Design

Later uses

See also

References