Cuernavaca Cathedral Teopanzolco – Baroque Church and its Medieval History

Source:

Teopanzolco is one of the significant archaeological sites in the state of Morelos in Mexico and has intrigued thousands of historians with its visible medieval monuments and archeology. The Roman Catholic Church was built in the 16th century and is close to the Popocatepetl volcano. The reason for designing and building the church was evangelization of indigenous people after the conquer by Spanish of the Aztec Empire. The church started to function as Parish church by the 18th century and became a cathedral by the 19th century. The church has its own stone walled compound and retains its medieval look.

There have been many renovations that took place in the cathedral, and some of the crumbling older interiors are replaced with modern ones. Many murals adorn the church and one of the old murals from the 17th century was found during renovation work. The mural that covers nearly 400 square meters narrates the story of Philip of Jesus and many other missionaries. The baroque church is the main church of the monastery of Third Order of Franciscans called La Asuncion. The complex of the church is located between the intersection of Hidalgo and Morelos street, a very convenient location.

The complex consists of the main church that is protected with a stone wall along with few chapels and cloister. The atrium that is located between the church and chapel forms an L-shaped resting place and was used as an inner sanctum for monks. The dome has sandstone cross on top of it, and the atrium also has a monument which is dedicated to certain murdered Spaniards. The open chapel is open for mass, music, dance and many events. The façade of the church has ornate decoration and has a bell tower with a clock on it. There is a bronze statue of Jesus with a cross placed inside the main church.

The story of the murals describes more about Pope Innocence II with 23 missionaries. One of the most important chapels in the cathedral compound is the Capilla Abierta which is an open chapel and is dedicated to Saint Joseph. The other important chapel is Tercera Orden Chapel which is built in the northeast corner in 1722. The baroque church and chapel are influenced in Churrigueresque style with façade representing a number of sculptures of angels and saints. The main altar is absolutely stunning with colorful decors and flowers everywhere designed by indigenous artisans.

ambulorbis is a team of writers who want to walk the world and experience everything this amazing blue marble has to offer. If you'd like to support our efforts leave an upvote! Keep calm and steem on.

Today's author is Apeksha.

All media are open source.

---