Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion

The Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion anchors the Plaza de la Independencia with a pale limestone facade and twin bell towers, known locally as La Espanola and La Campechana, that have become one of the defining silhouettes of San Francisco de Campeche. Its origins trace to 1540, on the site where the first Mass in the settlement was said, though construction of the current building stretched across more than two centuries and the church was only elevated to cathedral rank in 1895 as the diocese was formally established. Inside, the whitewashed, vaulted nave has a restrained elegance compared with the more heavily decorated colonial churches elsewhere in Mexico, drawing attention to its principal treasure: the Santo Entierro, a silver-mounted 18th-century sepulchre depicting the entombed Christ, carried in procession through the streets of the historic center each Good Friday in one of the city's most significant religious events. A visit to see the interior and facade takes about 30 minutes, brief enough to combine easily with the surrounding plaza, Casa Seis and nearby museums. The cathedral is at its most photogenic in early evening, when floodlighting picks out the limestone facade against the darkening sky and the plaza fills with families out for the evening.