architecture+-+spanish

= Metropolitan Cathedral =

The Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest and oldest cathedral in the Americas.



The Cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church, that was built after the Spanish conquest. The cathedral has four faces which contain doorways with columns and statues.

 Fourteen of the cathedral's sixteen chapels are open to the public, each of them dedicated to a different saint or saints. The chapels contain ornate altars, altarpieces, retablos, paintings, furniture and sculptures. Over the centuries the cathedral has suffered damage. A fire in 1962 destroyed a significant part of the cathedral's interior. When they rebuilt it, a number of important documents and artwork that had been previously been hidden. The main facade of the cathedral faces south. The main portal is centered in the main facade and is the highest of the cathedral's three portals. In the center of a doorway is a high relief of the assumption of the virgin mary, to whom the cathedral is dedicated.

= = Resources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City_Metropolitan_Cathedral