VENUE

This precinct, majestic example of the viceregal architecture of the New Spain, was designed by the architect Pedro de Arrieta in order to install the Tribunal of the Holy Office, and its construction was carried out between 1732 and 1736.

The main access of the building is located in a chamfered facade towards the northeast corner of the Plaza de Santo Domingo. In its interior patio the corner columns of the first floor were eliminated, creating a sensation of spaciousness in the interior where its sober arcades and a neoclassical staircase stand out.

It presents a combination of tezontle stone and quarry stone on the exterior, which was usually used during the colonial era and gives its characteristic red and ocher hues to many buildings in the Historic Center.

After the abolition of the Inquisition Tribunal and the Independence of Mexico, this building had different owners and uses, until in 1854 the School of Medicine was established, adapting the old cells and rooms into classrooms for the teaching of scientific subjects related to health.