Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes)

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is the great marble cultural venue in downtown Mexico City, beside the Alameda Central, and the country’s most prestigious theatre. It replaced the old Gran Teatro Nacional, demolished in 1901; Italian architect Adamo Boari began building it in 1904 under Porfirio Díaz, and work stopped during the Revolution.

Architect Federico Mariscal finished it, and it was inaugurated on September 29, 1934, during the presidency of Abelardo L. Rodríguez. It hosts opera, symphonic music and the Ballet Folklórico de México, and it houses murals by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.