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With its pointed, tiled twin towers, Guadalajara's Cathedral (Mon-Fri 7am-2pm & 4-9pm, Sun 7am-9pm; free) is a bizarre but effective mixture of styles. Building work began in 1561 and wasn't finished until more than a century later - since then, extensive modifications, which effectively disguise the fact that there was ever a plan behind the design, have included a Neoclassical facade and new towers (the originals collapsed in an 1818 earthquake). The interior is best seen in the evening, when the light from huge chandeliers makes the most of its rich decoration; the picture of the Virgin in the sacristy is attributed to the Spanish Renaissance artist Murillo . Flanking the cathedral is a series of bustling plazas, often the scene of demonstrations and impromptu street performances. The Plaza de los Laureles , planted with laurel trees and with a fountain in the centre, faces the main west entrance, while to the north, by the porticoed Presidencia Municipal (less than fifty years old, though you wouldn't know it), lies the Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres in the centre of another plaza. This Neoclassical circle of seventeen Doric columns is the latest architectural expression of Jaliscan pride and commemorates the state's martyred heroes.
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