Ignacio Castera

Ignacio Castera (c. 1750-1811) was among the most important Mexico City architects of his day. Ignacio de Castera Obiedo y Peralta was very well connected. The son of an architect, he came to be a favorite of the Archbishop, Alonso Núñez de Haro y Peralta. The Viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco y Padilla, second Count of Revillagigedo, would also be among his most important contacts. He eventually reached the rank of Master Builder of the Cathedral of Mexico City which was about as high a title as he could have expected.

His own home is today nearly a ruin in the San Juan Moyotlan neighborhood of the City Center. It's at the corner of Calle Revillagigedo and Articulo 123. It was his first recorded work.

He's probably best remembered for his work rehabilitating the Temple of San Pedro in Tláhuac. Although he also completed the Cathedral of Queretaro and a remodeling of the Santiago Apóstol Church in Chalco.

He's probably most celebrated, though, as an urbanist. His work included multiple designs for fountains, sewers, ditches, and street and avenue layouts. He worked with his father on the old Chapultepec Aqueduct which culminated in the fountain at Salto del Agua. It was completed in 1779.

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