Catedral de Puebla

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception fills the block on the south side of Puebla's Zócalo and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Puebla. It replaced an earlier, more modest church on the same site. Work on the present building began on 18 November 1575 to plans by the Spanish architect Francisco Becerra, with labourers from Cholula and Tlaxcala, but it went slowly and stalled for years with the walls only half built. Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, who arrived in 1640, raised money from the whole city, put some 1,500 men to work and had Juan Gómez de Trasmonte's revised design built, with a taller central nave to let in more light. Palafox consecrated it on 18 April 1649, a few years ahead of Mexico City's cathedral, even though the towers and the main façade were still unfinished.

From outside it is sober grey stone in the Herrerian style. The main door, the Puerta del Perdón, was finished in 1664 and opens only on great occasions. The north tower was completed in 1678 and the south tower in 1768; both stand about 70 metres tall, at the time the highest in the Spanish colonies. Only the north tower has bells, and the biggest, María, weighs about 8.5 tonnes. It was hauled up in 1732 by the master builder Juan Bautista Santiago, though the popular story says angels lifted it overnight. The bells have rung for great moments, from the end of the battle of 5 May 1862 to the visit of John Paul II in 1979.

Inside, five naves and 14 side chapels hold three centuries of painting, sculpture and woodwork. The Altar de los Reyes behind the high altar, designed by Juan Martínez Montañés, was consecrated with the building in 1649. The neoclassical high altar under the dome was designed by Manuel Tolsá, begun in 1799 and made of Tecali marble, bronze and gilt. The 18th-century choir stalls are inlaid wood, and of the three organs the largest, built in 1958 with parts from the United States, Germany and Mexico, has 3,376 pipes and still plays for big occasions. Entry is free and the church is in daily use, so walk quietly around services.