Tlaxcala. El Palacio de Gobierno

Relatively few civic buildings survive from the early colonial period in Mexico. One of the few is the spectacular Government Building ( Palacio de Gobierno) in the city of Tlaxcala, which although much altered over time retains some of its original mudéjar features.

Dating from the mid 1500s, the Palacio main entry boasts a sculpted  doorway, spanned with a convex lobed archway supported on broad triple jambs carved with foliated grotesque style reliefs.

At the far corner of the building, a triple arcade fashioned in the same style with similar foliated reliefs, believed to represent the native Mexican marigold or flor de muerto, spans the upper tier.

text and images © 2021 Richard D. Perry