Palacio de Bellas Artes

The Palacio de Bellas Artes wears two different faces. Its exterior is white Italian marble carved in heavy, curvaceous Art Nouveau styles, while the interior gleams with geometric Art Deco lines and murals. Porfirio Diaz commissioned the building in nineteen oh four to celebrate the centenary of Mexican independence. Construction stalled for years because the heavy marble began to sink into the soft, ancient lakebed of the city, forcing the structure to settle several meters deep into the earth before its completion in nineteen thirty-four.