Palacio de Iturbide (Iturbide Palace), Mexico City

The massive Baroque mansion, richly adorned with intricate sandstone carvings around the windows and door frames, at Madero Street #17, is the former residence of Miguel de Berrio y Saldívar, a rich nobleman and direct descendant of Spanish conquistadors, as well as a one-time mayor of Mexico City.

This palatial property is a replica of the royal palace in Palermo and was built between 1779 and 1785 to a design by Francisco Antonio Guerrero y Torres. The owner purportedly built this house as an elaborate equivalent to his daughter's dowry (worth 100,000 pesos, a huge sum at that time) in a bid to prevent his new son-in-law, Marquis of Moncada of Sicily, from squandering his daughter's wealth.

The couple's son, though, opted not to live here but offered the palace for accommodating visiting dignitaries. One such was Agustín de Iturbide. It was from this palace's balcony that Iturbide accepted the offer to become Mexico's first emperor after the proclamation of independence from Spain. During his short reign, from 1821 to 1823, Iturbide used this house as the royal residence, subsequently giving it the popular name.

Early in the 19th century, the building housed the College of Mining, and in 1855 was remodeled into a hotel (in which capacity it served for another 100+ years).

In 1965, the building was purchased and restored by the National Bank of Mexico. In 1972, it became the home of the Banamex Cultural Foundation (Fomento Cultural Banamex) which is dedicated to the promotion of Mexican art. It was officially inaugurated as the Palace of Culture (Palacio de Cultura) Banamex in 2004.

Tip:
Browse at the small but well-appointed on-site bookshop (some of the items on sale here may be high-priced, but are great to look at).