Zacatecas Cathedral

The magnificent cathedral, which stands on the Plaza Hidalgo, is for many people the most perfect example of the Mexican Churrigueresque style. The building was begun in 1612 on the site of an earlier church, but the form it has today is primarily the result of additions dating from the period 1730-60.

The façade, with its exceptionally elaborate decorative work which is typical of the richness of form of Spanish-Mexican Baroque, has illustrations of Christ with the twelve apostles, four Church Fathers around the chancel window, and in the uppermost section God the Father surrounded by eight angels making music. These images are fashioned with a mixture of Romanesque elements and motives derived from the Indian philosophy of life. The dome was rebuilt in 1836.

The austere interior, mainly decorated in the Neo-Classical style, is disappointing; the exceptionally rich fittings (gold and silver objects, European paintings, etc.) which were once there disappeared during the Reform War and the turmoil of the Revolution.