The Catedral de San Ildefonso is one of Mexico's oldest churches and it can be found on the east side of the Plaza Grande. The first blocks were laid in the epic construction process in 1561 and it took until 1598 to complete the place of worship. There were literally hundreds of workers involved in the construction and many even gave their lives in accidents along the way.
The stones used to build this truly impressive Cathedral were taken from the site of the destroyed Mayan temple in the City. There is a huge, towering crucifix behind the altar, which is a symbol of reconcilitation between the Spanish and the Maya.
On the right of the Cathedral, above the door there is a famous painting of Tutl Xiu, a warlord, paying his respects to his colleague and ally, Francisco de Montejo the Younger. The most precious monument in the building was actually destroyed during the Mexican Revolution and has now been replaced by a replica. The statue is the Cristo de las Ampollas (Christ of the Blisters). It is said that the original was carved from a tree that was struck by lightening and burned for a whole night without charring.
The Cathedral has a Renaissance Facade but a gothic interior, there are an impressive two towers, a semicircular arch and inside there are huge Tuscan columns. Inside the Cathedral the remains of Andres de Vandelvira who was the architect of the cathedral of Jaen and Ubeda, he died in 1575.
