Palace of the Count of Santiago de Calimaya

Palace of the Count of Santiago de Calimaya (Mexico City Museum), Pino Suarez at Rep. del Salvador.

One of my favorites Noble houses of Mexico City, built by Juan Altamirano a relative of Hernan Cortés in the XVIc , the house was redone in the XVIIIc by the architect Guerrero y Torres (or at least is attributed to him), the façade is of an elegant simplicity, adorned by gargoyles fashioned as cannons, therefore its name as House of the Cannons, the door is one of the finest in town and at the corner you will find the head of an Aztec serpent from the wall that used to enclose the dual ¨Templo Mayor¨ of Tenochtitlan, the piano nobile has an outstanding arcade, probably the most noble of all in the city, with a charming chapel and down below the courtyard with a fountain decorated with a double tailed mermaid. Ask for the Clausell studio, known as the tower of the 1000 windows, quite a pleasant surprise, rather different from all the murals you could see in this town.