Palacio de Bellas Artes

The Italian architect Adamo Boari began construction in 1904, but work stalled for decades during the turbulent years that followed. The Mexican architect Federico Mariscal completed the building, which was inaugurated in 1934. That long history shows in its design: Boari's exterior combines Art Nouveau and Neoclassical forms in white marble, including marble from Carrara, while Mariscal gave the interior an Art Deco style. The heavy building has sunk several metres into the soft soil of the city since it opened.

Inside, the walls carry murals by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo and Jorge González Camarena. The theatre, with around 1,600 seats, has a glass ceiling by the Hungarian artist Géza Maróti showing Apollo and the muses, and a folding stage curtain of Tiffany glass that depicts the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The Ballet Folklórico de México performs here regularly, and the National Museum of Architecture occupies the top floor.

The building was declared an artistic monument in 1987.