It's a glimpse into not just pre-Hispanic, but pre-Aztec Mexico. The Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan, founded in on an island in the now dried-up Lake Texcoco, the largest of five interconnected lakes, became the largest city in pre-Columbian America. Why, you might ask, did the Mexica pregenitors of the Aztec choose to base their empire in the middle of a lake, where food and fresh water were scarce? Like many ancient cultures, they took their legends seriously, and one legend sent them on a centuries-long quest in search of an eagle perched on a cactus, a sign that they had reached the place where they were meant to establish their new capital and ceremonial center.
The middle of Lake Texcoco just happened to be where they finally encountered said eagle. The Aztec's adaptations were feats of engineering and ingenuity: long causeways to the mainland, with bridges that allowed canoes to pass and could be pulled away to defeat would-be invaders; levees that kept fresh spring water separate from brackish lake waters; miles-long terra cotta aqueducts; a complex system of canals throughout the city; and chinampas to provide land for agriculture.
Sometimes called floating gardens, chinampas don't actually float. These fertile little islets, separated by canals for farmers to navigate in canoes, produced prodigious yields of corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, chilies and flowers in the swamps. Some of the earliest chinampas were built on the south shore of Lake Xochimilco, the southern arm of Lake Texcoco.
Though most were abandoned after the Spanish conquistadors destroyed the dams and drained the canals in order to build roads, many of Xochimilco's fields were spared because they were such an important food source.
With Mexico City's expansion and new farming techniques, few of the tens of thousands of chinampas remain, though some in the residual Lake Xochimilco are still used to grow vegetables and flowers — Xochimilco's primary source of income— as well as for recreation.
The Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco , a great green area with trails, endemic wildlife, wetlands, bird reserves, and aquatic and land activities, was established in Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.
Built over a period of nearly years, the Metropolitan Cathedral presents a mixture of three architectural styles predominant during the colonial period: Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical. It also functioned and continues to function as a place to receive Eucharist and register parishioners. The cathedral has been a focus of Mexican cultural identity, and is a testament to its colonial history.
It once was an important religious center, used exclusively by the prominent families of New Spain. The Templo Mayor was discovered in while workers were digging to place underground electric cables. It has hosted some of the most notable events in music, dance, theater, opera and literature and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography.
The building is located on the western side of the historic center of Mexico City next to the Alameda Central park. The first National Theater of Mexico was built in the late 19th century, but it was soon decided to tear this down in favor of a more opulent building in time for Centennial of the Mexican War of Independence in The initial design and construction was undertaken by Italian architect Adamo Boari in , but complications arising from the soft subsoil and the political problem both before and during the Mexican Revolution, hindered then stopped construction completely by Construction began again in under Mexican architect Federico Mariscal and was completed in The exterior of the building is primarily Neoclassical and Art Nouveau and the interior is primarily Art Deco.
This side of the plaza has been occupied by commercial structures since the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in Today the west side of the square is dominated by two sets of buildings with Madero Street dividing them as it runs west from the Zocalo to the Palace of Bellas Artes. The buildings on the north side of Madero is occupied by offices on the upper floors and shops at ground level. The southside buildings are dominated on the ground floor by fine jewelry stores, marking the beginning of the "Centro Joyero Zocalo.
Specialists restored 40 square meters of a 17th century mural painting discovered in the subsoil of Palacio de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City. The site has 2 locations. The site has 86 connections. Register Login. Login Sign up. The List. All tentative sites. Inscribed Sites Tentative Sites. Our Community. All connections. About Blog. Mexico City and Xochimilco 3. Map of Mexico City and Xochimilco. Els Visit September , January 4. Community Reviews Write a review.
Ian Cade 5. Kyle Magnuson 4. Frederik Dawson 4. Solivagant 4. Community Rating 3. Your Rating. Site Links Unesco Website. Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco. Connections The site has 86 connections Architecture. Churrigueresque : Cathedral interior altars, chapels, doors. Madero 7. At Licenciado Verdad 8. Madero Initially the Palace of the Inquisition in the city, built Neoclassical architecture : At the end of the colonial period and during roughly the first century of its independent life, the historic centre of the city received numerous works in the neoclassical style.
Just like in many other countries, this style was used to relate the new nation and its surging institutions to the glories of the Democracy of Athens and the Republic of Rome. By architect Manuel Gorozpe. Domes : The following is a list of the most important domes in the historic centre. One of the most significant and sumptuous buildings from the times of the Porfiriato. Modern Urban Planning : It is proposed that Neoclassical urbanism started in when Bucarelli ordered the opening of the Bulevar Nuevo, and ends in Of particular interest is the period starting with the empire of Maximilian of Habsburg in and ending with beginning of the Porfiriato dictatorship in , when the ideas coming from Europe Haussmann for example were beginning to be applied, to break the dominance of the historic centre and of Zocalo square in particular, creating a urban duality.
However, the most important period is the Porfiariato dictatorship when the ideas of new urbanism were fully applied, with the creation of Paseo de la Reforma, the construction of monuments directed at promoting the nationalist spirit , the expansion of the city creation of neighborhoods to the west and south incorporating such principles and a focus on hygienism, that led to the creation of related infrastructure. During this period, with the influx of European professionals and the full application of principles of Neoclassical Urbanism, the city was transformed from its colonial character.
Pyramids : Templo Mayor. Canals : Xochimilco. Large squares : Plaza de la Constitucion, m2. Historical zoos : Tenochtitlan: two zoos in the palace of Moctezuma.
Saved from melting down during the struggle for independence. Hospitals : Hospital of Jesus Nazareno. Built by order of Cortez.
Each one has 3. Notable Hotels : Proposal: The requirement that the building must have been designed as a hotel and be still functioning excludes the Gran Hotel which was not designed as such , however there are others which may apply.
The no longer standing and sadly famous Hotel Regis and Hotel del Prado were just besides what became the inscribed WH and therefore, were not inside it. It was later a residential complex vecindad , but later became a hotel again.
In , it hosted Simone de Beauvoir. At Avenida Hidalgo Bandstand : As most public parks in Mexico and Latin America, there is a bandstand at Alameda Central, where besides musical presentations, boys and girls of middle to high class origins used to socialize. At Hidalgo. Destroyed or damaged by Earthquake : Sep 19 earthquake, causing 5, deaths in Mexico City Metro area. The map shows that 5 others were "damaged". It lasted 4 minutes. This Earthquake also devastated the city of Oaxaca.
Endorheic Lakes : Lake Xochimilco is an ancient endorheic lake wiki. Former Islands : The Plaza de la Constitucion area of Mexico City was originally built in on a the southern part of an island in Lake Texcoco as "Tenochtitlan" by the Tenochca people.
The northern part of this island contained the settlement of Tlatelolco, having previously been settled by another Nahuatl group the Tlatelolca - its remains are centred on the "Plaza of the 3 cultures". For many years the lake whose Aztec controlling dams had been destroyed during the Conquest was capable of flooding the centre of the city. Native flora can be seen along the banks of the canals, including bulrushes, pepper trees, camphor, jarilla, toloache, and Mexican poppy.
Get recommended reads, deals, and more from Hachette Get recommended reads, deals, and more from Hachette Sign Up. Traditional trajineras, poled barges once used for transporting local cargo along the canals, now serve as tour boats.
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