The Palace of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

stands on the corner of República de Brasil and República de Venezuela streets in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. As neither side of the building faces Santo Domingo Plaza, the entrance is placed at a canted corner to face the plaza. Its long association with the

, which ended during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

, made it difficult to convert to other purposes. However, it eventually became the School of Medicine for the reconstructed National University (now the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)). When UNAM moved to the Ciudad Universitaria in the 1950s, it retained ownership of this building, eventually converting the structure in what is today the Museum of Mexican Medicine.

Inquisition in New Spain

From nearly the beginning of the colonial period until the Mexican War of Independence, this spot has been the headquarters of the Inquisition in the colony of New Spain. While the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition was not fully established here until 1571, the first cleric with inquisitorial duties was Martin de Valencia, who came to the colony in 1524. The Dominicans, in whom the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

had invested Inquisition duties, arrived in 1526 and proceeded to build a monastery in the area occupied by both the current palace and the Church of Santo Domingo. The first official Inquisitor for the colony,

Pedro Moya de Contreras Pedro Moya de Contreras (sometimes ''Pedro de Moya y Contreras'') (c. 1528, Pedroche, Córdoba Province, Spain – December 21, 1591, Madrid) was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colon ...

, worked in the section of the monastery, where the palace would be built in the 18th century. The Inquisition was officially established here due to a 1566 conspiracy led by Martín Cortés, son of Hernán Cortés, threatened to make the new colony independent of Spain. The plot was denounced by Baltazar de Aguilar Cervantes and Inquisition trials of various

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...

s began. The accused were subject to torture and harsh sentences, especially when before a magistrate by the name of Muñoz. The first victims of this series of trials were the brothers Alonso and Gil Gonzalez de Alvila Alvarado. Despite having the sympathy of the local citizens and of the chroniclers, both brothers were convicted. Their punishment was to be decapitated, and their house, located on part of the site of the

Templo Mayor The (Spanish: Main Temple) was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called ' in ...

, was razed to the ground, and the site sown with salt The Inquisition here heard a number of other famous cases during its time, including the prosecution of the Carbajal family for reversion to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, and the case of Martin Villavicencio, alias Martin Garatuza, famous for frauds including a long period of traveling the country posing as a priest, living fraudulently by hearing confessions and saying mass without being ordained; his legendary frauds and escapes would inspire one of the best-known 19th-century Mexican novels,

Vicente Riva Palacio Vicente Florencio Carlos Riva Palacio Guerrero better known as Vicente Riva Palacio (16 October 1832 in Mexico City – 22 November 1896 in Madrid) was a Mexican liberal politician, novelist, journalist, intellectual, and military leader. ...

's ''Martín Gartuza''.

Servando Teresa de Mier Fray José Servando Teresa de Mier Noriega y Guerra (October 18, 1765 – December 3, 1827) was a Roman Catholic priest, preacher, and politician in New Spain. He was imprisoned several times for his controversial beliefs, and lived in exil ...

spent time in the jail here, and this court sentenced

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican ...

defrocking Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

and

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

before his 1811 execution. Soon after, in 1820, the Inquisition was officially disbanded in Mexico.

Architectural history

The building that stands at the site now was built between 1732 and 1736 by , who also worked on a number of other significant buildings in the city, including the Metropolitan Cathedral and La Profesa Church. Even though Arrieta was famous for his work, he died broke shortly after the completion of the Palace of the Inquisition, for which he received a daily wage of two pesos. Originally Arrieta constructed a two-story building, with a third floor added in the 19th century. As the headquarters of the Inquisition, this building had hearing rooms, judges’ chambers, a secret chamber, a jail, and accommodations for two inquisitors. The palace was popularly known as the ("Flat-faced House"). This referred to how its southwest corner being canted (seemingly cut off or pushed in) in order to face Santo Domingo Plaza. Its jail was known as the "prison of an eternity" (), since many inmates were confined for life.

Post-Inquisition history

After the end of the Inquisition, in 1838, it was put up for sale by public auction, but no one offered the minimum price. It was finally purchased by the archbishopric. Later it served as lottery offices, a primary school and a military barracks. In 1854, it was sold to the School of Medicine, which at the time was offering classes in professors' homes. After the purchase, a number of changes were made, and a boarding school created here. Eventually, it would become the school of medicine and nursing of the National University (today's UNAM) In 1873, in despair over an unrequited love, romantic poet

Manuel Acuña Manuel Acuña Navarro (27 August 1849 – 6 December 1873) was a 19th-century Mexican writer. He focused on poetry but also wrote some novels and plays. He committed suicide at age 24. It is not certain why he killed himself, but it is thought tha ...

committed suicide by poison in a room here. In 1879, after modification, the old chapel became the Academy of Medicine and a third floor was added, which resulted in the removal of the crest which held the coat-of-arms of the Inquisition. When all the faculties of UNAM, including the School of Medicine, moved to the Ciudad Universitaria in the 1950s, this palace was is such poor shape that a number of its arches were in danger of falling. Restoration work commenced shortly afterwards and was completed in 1980. In 1982, the building that once was the prison was reintegrated into the main complex and since then has been used as a theater and to accommodate the lectures of visiting professors. AntesalaMedMusDF

Today the building still belongs to UNAM and functions as the Museum of Medicine. This museum was inaugurated on 22 December 1980, and designed as a way to preserve the history of medicine in Mexico as well as promote the values associated with this field. It was also considered to be a way to conserve one of the properties that UNAM still holds in the historic downtown area. The museum has 24 rooms that cover the history of medicine in this country, from pre-Hispanic times to the 20th century. Among its collections are a room devoted to indigenous herbal medicine, various rooms devoted to old medical equipment and machines, a room about human development and a collection of wax figures used for the teaching of diseases and pathologies.

Description

Like many other buildings in the historic downtown, the facade is covered in '' tezontle'' (a blood-red porous volcanic stone), with windows and doors framed with ' (a grayish-white stone), but the building has two main notable features. This first is that its main portal is located at the southwest corner, which is canted (cut off) in order to face Santo Domingo Plaza. Arrieta came up with the idea, an innovation in New Spain. With this design, not only would the building face the plaza, its two side streets would lead to its door. This feature would earn the palace the nickname of "flat-faced" (), and this idea was declared innovative and beautiful. The other feature is the patio. The arches on the four corners do not rest on columns, but seem to hang from the ceiling, similar to a vaulted ceiling. In fact, they are crossed arches that are supported by pillars attached to the walls and the first columns on each side.

Gallery

File:Plaza de Santo Domingo, Mexico City. photo of 1855. Casimiro Castro.jpg, Plaza de Santo Domingo in 1855, by Casimiro Castro. The palace is at the background. File:Mexico to-day, a country with a great future; and a glance at the prehistoric remains and antiquities of the Montezumas (1883) (14596212987).jpg, The plaza in 1883, by Thomas Brocklehurst. The palace is in the back. File:Plaza de Santo Domingo 1880-1900.tif, The plaza in 1900, by Abel Briquet. The palace is at the background.

References