El Palacio

In front of you stands the building known as El Palacio, the large yellow structure along the north side of Plaza de la Independencia. Behind its colonial-style façade are actually two different museums, offering a chance to explore both the history of Campeche and the region’s contemporary artistic scene. The first is the Museo de Fortificaciones, Comercio y Navegación, which focuses on the history of the city between the 16th and the 19th century. The current building dates from the year 2000, but it stands on the site of several important colonial structures, including the former customs house and the old government palace. Inside, the museum tells the story of Campeche as a major trading port on the Gulf of Mexico. The different rooms explore the defensive fortifications built to protect the city from pirate attacks, the importance of the logwood trade, highly valued in Europe for dyeing fabrics, and everyday maritime life during the colonial period, illustrated with ship models and historical maps. Logwood itself is a small tropical tree with a dark red sap, native to Mexico and Central America. Its name comes from the port of Campeche, from where it was exported in large quantities to Europe beginning in the 17th century. The wood was prized for its remarkable dyeing properties. Depending on how it was processed, it could produce shades of purple, blue, and especially deep black. By the 18th century, nearly 95 percent of black textiles in the world were dyed using its pigment, called hematoxylin. Today, although synthetic dyes have largely replaced it in the textile industry, hematoxylin still plays an important role in medical science. It remains the most widely used natural dye in histology laboratories, where it helps doctors stain tissue samples to study diseases and detect cancer cells. In another part of the building you’ll find a much more recent space, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Campeche, which opened in 2024. This museum was created to give the city a dedicated place for contemporary art and to showcase artists from the Yucatán Peninsula. Exhibitions change regularly and often explore themes connected to landscape, nature, and modern Mexican society. Together, these two museums offer an interesting contrast, taking you from the maritime history of Campeche to the creativity of its artists today.