National Palace (Mexico)
National Palace | |
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Palacio Nacional ( Palace of the Viceroy Palacio Imperial | |
General information | |
Architectural style | Baroque |
Location | Mexico City, Mexico |
Construction started | 1522 |
The National Palace (
Current complex
Used and classified as a government building, the National Palace, with its red tezontle facade,[1] fills the entire east side of the Zócalo,[2] measuring over 200 metres (660 ft) long.[3] It is home to some of the offices of both the Federal Treasury and the National Archives.[2]
Description
The facade is bordered on the north and south by two towers and includes three main doorways, each of which lead to a different part of the building.[1] The southern door leads to the Patio of Honor and presidential offices (no public access).[2] The northern door is known as the Mariana Door, named in honor of Mariano Arista who had it constructed in 1850. The area next to this door used to be the old Court Prison, with courtrooms and torture chambers. It is now occupied by the Finance Ministry. It contains the Treasury Room, constructed by architects Manuel Ortiz Monasterio and Vicente Mendiola. The iron and bronze door is the work of Augusto Petriccioli.[1]
Above the central doorway, facing the Zócalo, is the main balcony where just before 11pm on September 15, the president of Mexico gives the
The central door leads to the main patio which is surrounded by
In the middle and largest panel, the
Diego also painted 11 panels on the middle floor, such as the "Tianguis of Tlatelolco" (tianguis means "market"), and the "Arrival of Hernán Cortés in Veracruz". These are part of a series depicting the pre-Hispanic era. Peoples such as the
On the upper floor is what once was the Theatre Room of the
The Palace has fourteen courtyards but only a few of these, such as the Grand Courtyard beyond the central portal, are open to the public. The National Palace also houses the main State Archives, with many historical documents, and the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, one of the largest and most important libraries in the country.[3]
On north annex of the building is the Treasury Room and the Benito Juárez Museum. Between the two is the Empress Stairway, built by brothers Juan and Ramón Agea. When faced with claims that their work was unstable and would collapse, they had a full battalion charge down them while they stood underneath. The Treasury Room is no longer in use. Leading to the Museum part of the complex, which used to be the Finance Ministry, is a statue of Benito Juárez by Miguel Noreña. This work was criticized at the time because it was felt that such an honored person should not be depicted sitting on his coattails, as it was contrary to social etiquette at the time. In the Finance Ministry patio is the Benito Juárez Room, where this president lived during the end of his term and where he died on July 18, 1872. The bedroom, living room and study have been preserved complete with a number of objects belonging to the president.[1]
History of the building
Moctezuma's "New Houses"
The site and much of the building material of the current building is of what were called Moctezuma II's "New Houses". This palace functioned as the Aztec tlatoani's residence and performed a number of official functions as well. The building was divided into two sections and decorated with marble and painted stucco. The main façade contained the shield of the monarchy, an eagle with a snake in its claws. It has three patios surrounded by porticos, indoor sanitary facilities, fountains and gardens. The bedrooms had tapestries of cotton, feathers and rabbit fur painted in bright colors. The floors were of polished stucco and covered in animal furs and finely-woven mats. There were rooms for servants, administrative staff, and military guards, along with kitchens, pantries and storage rooms. The richness of the palace surprised Cortés, which he relayed in letters to Charles I of Spain.[5]
The palace also held a chamber reserved for the "tlacxitlan" where a group of elders, presided over by the emperor himself, would settle disputes among the citizenry. After the Conquest, these New Houses were not completely leveled to the ground but were sufficiently destroyed as to make them uninhabitable.[5]
Cortés's palace
The land and the buildings on it were claimed by Hernán Cortés, who had architects Rodrigo de Pontocillos and Juan Rodríguez rebuild the palace while Cortés lived in the "Old Houses" (now the Nacional Monte de Piedad building) across the plaza from 1521 to 1530.[1][2]
Cortés's palace was a massive fortress with
The Spanish crown bought the palace from the Cortés family in 1562 to house the Viceregal Palace. It remained so until Mexican Independence in the 1820s.[1][2]
Viceregal palace
In 1562, the Spanish Crown bought the palace and land from
Italian Capuchin friar Ilarione da Bergamo included a description of the viceregal palace in his travel narrative. He notes that the building is not just the residence of the viceroy and his family, but also has a number of government offices including the high court (Real Audiencia) and other legal offices, royal treasury agents, attorneys including those of the General Indian Court, as well as small prisons in the complex.[7] During the tenure of viceroy Bernardo Gálvez, he sought a residence separate from the palace and plans for Chapultepec Castle were drawn up in 1785, to be constructed on a high point outside the core of the city.
The palace was the site of viceregal power and centrally located so that when there were outbreaks of violence toward the regime, the palace was a target. Due to tensions between the viceroy and the archbishop, the palace was set on fire by supporters of the archbishop in 1624. On 8 June 1692, the palace was almost completely destroyed.
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Views of theMuseum of the Americas, Madrid[9]
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View of the Plaza Mayor (today Zócalo) in Mexico City (ca. 1695) by Cristóbal de Villalpando. The work shows the Viceroy's Palace still ruined by the 1692 riot in Mexico City. Corsham Court, England[10]
After independence
Many of Mexico's leaders after independence made changes to the Viceroy Palace, including renaming it the "National Palace". Mexico's first ministries were installed such as the Ministry of Hacienda (internal revenue), Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Internal and External Relations, as well as the Supreme Court. During an uprising led by Valentín Gómez Farías against then-president Anastasio Bustamante, the southwest balustrade was seriously damaged during a siege lasting twelve days. In 1845, the old Chambers of Deputies was constructed, with the Senate on the upper floor of the south wing. In 1850, Mariano Arista had the old north prison door cemented shut and constructed the current northern door. He also converted the north wing into barracks of the "Batallón de Guardia de Supremos Poderes" (Battalion of Guards for the Supreme Powers). In 1864, Maximilian of Habsburg had three flagpoles installed in front of the three main doors. By the central door was the Mexican flag; at the north door was the flag of Austria and at the south door was the flag of France. He also had Lorenzo de la Hidalga construct the grand marble staircase that is in the Patio of Honor in the southern wing, as well as having the public rooms roofed and furnished with paintings, candelabras, and chamber pots from Hollenbach, Austria and Sirres, France. In opposition, Benito Juárez chose to have his quarters in the north end of the Palace, rather than in the traditional southern end.[5]
In 1877, the Secretaría de Hacienda y Credito Público (Secretary of Internal Revenue and Public Credit),
A number of changes were made during the rule of Porfirio Díaz. The English-made clock on the parapet was moved to the tower of the Church of Santo Domingo. The façade was cemented over and etched to look like stone block. Cloth awnings were placed on the windows of the upper floors. On pedestals near the main door, statues of female forms were placed. Inside, the ambassador's room, the dining room, the kitchens, the lounge, the garages and the stables were all refurnished. This was done at a time when French style was popular in Mexico.[5]
Between 1926 and 1929, the third floor was added during the term of President Plutarco Elías Calles by Alberto J. Pani, an engineer and then finance minister and designed by Augusto Petriccioli.[1][3] Merlons were placed on the towers and parapet and decorative caps were placed on all three doors. The Dolores Bell was placed in a niche flanked by atlantes above the balcony above the central door. The façade was covered with red tezontle stone and installed stone frames on the doors, windows, cornices, and parapets. In the interior, a grand staircase of marble was installed in the central patio (where Diego Rivera would later paint The History of Mexico mural) and constructed stairs to the internal revenue department and the offices of the General Treasury in the north wing. The old Chamber of Deputies, abandoned after a fire in 1872, was reconstructed and re-inaugurated as a museum to the centennial. A statue of Benito Juárez was placed in the north wing near his old quarters. This statue was made with bronze from the cannons of the Conservative Army during the Reform War and from French projectiles from the Battle of Puebla. This caused the Palace to give it the appearance it has today.[5]
Palace as presidential residence
All the viceroys that ruled New Spain during the colonial period lived in this residence except for
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19th century photograph of the National Palace, showing its appearance prior to the addition of the third level
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The Dolores Bell waiting for its placement in 1935
Incidents of damage
On November 8, 2014, alleged
Archaeological work
Because of work related to the construction of
Recently, excavations in and next to the National Palace have unearthed parts of
The building's significance
On the webpage of past president Ernesto Zedillo, Carlos Fuentes calls the National Palace a "traveling and an immobile construction".[21] Traveling is used in the sense that much of its architectural style is Spanish in origin and symbolized the transplanting of Spanish civilization to the New World. It is immobile in the sense that since Aztec times, this has been the seat of earthly political power, first as the palaces of the Aztec tlatoani, then of the Spanish viceroys, then of Mexican heads of state. Only until very recently, those who held power over Mexico lived here as well as asserted their authority.[21]
The building itself represents the Mexican people as a blending of both Spanish and Aztec. The old palace was destroyed to make way for the new, but both were built of the very same stone. According to Zedillo, this represents something that is not quite Aztec, but not quite Spanish either, much like the country itself. These same stones were present during all of Mexico's major historical events and had seen foreign flags fly above them.[21]
On the eve of
Cats
Feral cats have been recorded to have been inhabiting the palace gardens since the 1970s, with 19 cats in residence as of 2024. In April that same year, President Andres Manuel López Obrador declared the cats to be “living fixed assets,” the first time animals in Mexico have been awarded the title. The measure, which is normally granted to tangible objects, requires the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit to provide permanent food and care for them in their lifetimes. One cat, Zeus, became famous for appearing on-camera during a press conference by López Obrador in 2023.[22]
See also
Gallery
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Mural by Diego Rivera
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Mural by Diego Rivera in National Palace
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Mural by Diego Rivera in National Palace
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Mural by Diego Rivera in National Palace
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Front of the National Palace
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Portrait of Margarita Maza de Juárez in Juárez Museum
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Juárez's study in the Juárez Museum
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Juárez's dining room in Juárez Museum
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Portrait of Agustín de Iturbide
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Interior of the Nacional Palace
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El Gritoin 2023
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Complex's library
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Old hall of the Treasury at the National Palace
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National Palace internal corredor
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Palacio Nacional at night
References
- ^ ISBN 968-5437-29-7.
- ^ ISBN 1-86450-087-5.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mexico City - National Palace". Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ "Diego Rivera Mural Monumental Stairway in Mexico's National Palace Mexico City, D.F." Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ ISBN 968-457-180-1.
- INAH. Archived from the originalon 27 November 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ Daily Life Colonial Mexico: The Journey of Ilarione da Bergamo, 1761-1768. Ed. Robert Ryal Miller and William J. Orr. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 2000, pp. 89-90
- ^ López, Rick A. "Nature as Subject and Citizen in the Mexican Botanical Garden, 1787-1829" in Christopher R. Boyer, ed. A Land Between Waters: Environmental Histories of Modern Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press 2012, pp. 73-99
- Ministry of Culture and Sport (Spain). Archived from the originalon 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
- ISBN 0842029141.
- ^ "Palacio Nacional". Lonely Planet.
- ^ "La renovación del Palacio Nacional". Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
- ISBN 968-34-0319-0.
- ^ "Evalúa INAH daños a puerta de Palacio Nacional". Noticieros.televisa.com. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Prenden fuego a la puerta Mariana de Palacio Nacional". Noticieros.televisa.com. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Arde puerta principal de Palacio Nacional tras la marcha al Zócalo por normalistas — la Jornada". Archived from the original on 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
- ^ "INAH presentará denuncia por puerta de Palacio Nacional". Eluniversal.com.mx. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Protesting students use pickup truck to batter down doors at National Palace in Mexico City". Associated Press. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ Siddique, Haroon (2008-06-10). "Archaeologists uncover Aztec palace in Mexico City". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ a b c d "The National Palace: A Traveling, Unmovable structure". Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ "19 cats roam Mexico's presidential palace. A new declaration gives them food and care fur-ever". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
External links
- Museo Virtual. A virtual tour of the National Palace