#TurismoMacabro: Antiguo Palacio de la Inquisición

By: Casandra Vicario

Located in the beautiful Centro Histórico of Ciudad de México, this area was once home to the Antiguo Palacio de la Inquisición, a place where thousands of souls and bodies were tortured. Because of this, it would be logical to expect to find and hear ghost stories and accounts of terrifying phenomena occurring throughout its corridors; however, it all remains speculation, since it isn't common to find anyone who knows of any supernatural event that has taken place there.

The building, of Baroque architecture, is very beautiful and was completed in 1736; countless people accused of witchcraft, heresy, and pacts with the devil passed through it, and there, some of the torture instruments and techniques devised by man were applied with mastery, inflicting pain and suffering at their fullest intensity. Walking through its corridors is quite an experience — the powerful vibe can be felt throughout the whole space.

Later, the palace became home to the UNAM School of Medicine, and so various cadavers were dissected there, though now, of course, for scientific purposes and for the benefit of public health.

Today it is the Museo de la Medicina de UNAM, and a few years ago the torture instruments came back home — although now not to cause death and suffering, but as part of the “Instrumentos de Tortura y Pena Capital” exhibition, which many of us have surely visited, perhaps without knowing the history behind the building.

It's worth keeping a close eye on social media and the internet, since night tours and other events that might interest you are frequently scheduled, but if you can't wait and want to visit right now: the Antiguo Palacio de la Inquisición, today the “Museo de Medicina,” is located at República del Brasil No. 33, at the corner of República de Venezuela and Belisario Domínguez, in the Centro Histórico of D.F.

It opens its doors Monday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

By: Casandra Vicario for Macabro FICH

Image: Internet