Description of the attraction
The Mexico City Museum is housed in an old 18th century Baroque palace that once belonged to the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya, descendants of the famous conquistador Joaquín Cortez. The museum building was built in 1781 by the architect Francisco Guerrero Torres. Its façade is covered with tezontl volcanic stone, typical of Baroque buildings. The stone head of a winged serpent is built into the wall on the southwest side. At the beginning of the 20th century, the artist Joaquin Clausell lived here. His studio was located on the third floor and now it is a separate exhibition hall, the walls of which are covered with unusual frescoes and impressionist collages.
The museum in this building has existed since 1964. The history of the development of Mexico City from the time of the Aztecs to the present day is displayed in 26 halls of the palace. The permanent exhibition is divided into periods: pre-Hispanic, colonial period (16-18 centuries), 19th century and 20th century. Among the exhibits in the halls of the pre-Hispanic period, one can see bowls, vessels, urns, archaic Aztec manuscripts, maps and household items of the ancient peoples of Mexico. The collection of the colonial period and the 19th and 20th centuries consists of furniture, ancient vases, jugs, and art objects, paintings and sculptures. Among other things, the museum has a library of the Mexican poet, prose writer and politician Jaime Torres Bodet. It contains about 10 thousand volumes of articles related to the history of Mexico City. The collection contains a collection of 19th century newspapers, copies or originals of laws, and a huge collection of books on the history of the city.
The Mexico City Museum often hosts temporary exhibitions, seminars for adults and children, and concerts.
