Mexico City

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate August 2001

download word file, 2 pages 1.0

Downloaded 9 times

Within the confinements of Mexico City, on the corner of Republica Del Salvador and Jose Maria Pino Suares, you will find the Hospital de la Concepion y de Jesus and the Templo y Hospital de San Felipe de Jesus. This hospital and temple which is better known today as the Hospital of Jesus the Nazarene has been a gathering space of medicine, religion and history.

The hospital was first known as the Hospital of the Immaculate Conception. The ruler of Mexico City at the time of construction, Hernan Cortes had ordered and founded the hospital. It was constructed in 1524 to assist in the treatment of the soldiers who were wounded while fighting in wars against the Aztecs. The hospital became known as hospital de Jesus, when construction began for the temple next door, the Church of Jesus the Nazarene in 1587. The temple was completed in 1622. Now serving as a place where the wounded could receive treatment and at the same time thank God for their victories against the Aztecs.

The Hospital of Jesus is renaissance and baroque in style. There is a horizontal influence seen throughout the building. The building overall gives a sense of movement, in the arched windows and openings. The temple resembles the layout of the Italian cross, with an extended nave. The reoccurrence and placement of openings create a play on light and darkness within the structure. The interior is filled with frescoes, some done during the original construction in the sixteenth century and others done later on during the twentieth century. All add to the beauty within, telling and creating history. The frescoes decorate the walls and ceilings, depicting the Apocalypse, the encounter between Moctezuma II and Cortes and the history of Spanish medicine. Inside the main altar sits a sculpture...