El ZocaloIn the middle of the city's historic centre is the enormous
paved Plaza de la Constitucion, or Zocalo, the second largest city
square in the world, and Mexico City's centre of government and
religion. The Presidential Palace dominates one side of the square,
a magnificent colonial building that was built on the site of the
former Aztec Palace, with remarkable interior murals narrating the
story of Mexico's history. Dominating an adjacent side of the
square is the great Metropolitan Cathedral, displaying a wealth of
architectural styles and occupying the site of the once sacred
grounds of the Aztec. The ornate interior contains its chief
treasure, the King's Chapel and gilded altar. The Cathedral is one
of the buildings subsiding into the soft ground on which the city
is built and builders are continuously at work to prevent its
uneven descent. The square itself is filled with activity, with
vendors and buskers, informal traditional Aztec dance performances,
family groups, workers o |