Palacio de Gobierno de Michoacán

The Palacio de Gobierno, seat of the executive branch of the state of Michoacán, faces the cathedral across Avenida Madero Poniente, between Calle Morelos and Calle Juárez. It was built between 1760 and 1770 as the Seminario Tridentino, the diocesan seminary and one of the four main colleges of colonial Valladolid. Among those who studied in its classrooms were José María Morelos, Mariano Michelena, Agustín de Iturbide and Melchor Ocampo, which makes this one building a short course in the people who shaped Mexico's independence and its 19th-century politics. In 1867 the building became the seat of the state government, and it has kept that role ever since.

The palace is a two-storey baroque building in pink cantera, and its front on Madero is considered one of the finest in the city. The façade is largely original: the main change is the Mexican coat of arms added in the 19th century, when the seminary became government offices. Inside are three courtyards surrounded by arcades, with wide stairways and ironwork balustrades, and in 1920 the building was briefly taken over by farmworkers from across the state.

The great attraction for visitors is the murals of Alfredo Zalce, the Pátzcuaro-born painter and printmaker, who covered the main stairwell and the upper corridors of the first courtyard around 1960-62 with the help of Juan Torres Calderón. They tell the history of Michoacán, scenes from the Mexican Revolution and the role of Hidalgo in Independence, and portray the people and landscapes of the state. The state culture department lists three of them by name: Importancia de Hidalgo en la Independencia, Historia de Morelia and Gente y paisaje de Michoacán. Visitors may walk in and see the murals for free, and on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays there are cultural tours of the building.