The cathedral, began life as a Franciscan friary, fortress-like complex. The side portal of the church has a fine colonial-Plateresque façade with, above the gable, the symbols of a crown, cross, skull and bones framed by an alfiz.
Detail, for Kate.
The Chapel of the Third Order, at the rear of the monastery building, has a very typical Mexican Baroque façade, embellished with a small figure representing Hernán Cortés. Like the chapel's lovely carved wooden altar (1735), the façade shows strong Indian influence.
The gilded 18th century altarpiece, restored and in beautiful condition, it is one of the few colonial baroque retablos to survive both the neoclassical vogue that swept through many churches in the region during the late 1700s and early 1800s.
In front, The Chapel of St. Jude Thaddeus.
