One of the many spectacular religious structures in the historic section is the Colegio de San Ildefonso. Built by the Jesuits in 1588, it initially offered both religious and secular education to elite scholars. the Jesuits were expelled from all Spanish lands in 1767 and the school was then given to non-monastic clergy still functioning as the College between 1767 and 1867.
In 1867, President Benito Juárez began reforming the educational system, a government function, converting it into the National Preparatory School.
In the 1920s, soon after the Mexican Revolution, the government sponsored mural paintings with themes centering on Mexico's history and politics of the post-Revolution era. San Ildefonso was one of the first public buildings to be painted this way. The artwork was commissioned to muralists including, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
Renovated in the 1990’s the College is now an important cultural center and museum.
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