The Church of Santa Prisca is one of the finest baroque churches in the Americas, and its twin towers rising above the Plaza Borda are the defining image of Taxco. José de la Borda, a French-born silver magnate who had made an enormous fortune from the Taxco mines, commissioned it in 1751 and it was consecrated in 1759 — eight years of construction that produced something genuinely extraordinary. The Churrigueresque facade is a riot of carved stone: saints, angels, foliage, and symbols piled on top of each other with an exuberance that takes a few minutes to fully absorb.
The interior is equally rich. The gilded altarpieces, painted by Miguel Cabrera — one of New Spain's greatest painters — fill the nave with color and detail. The scale is surprising for a town Taxco's size. Borda clearly intended to build something that would outlast his fortune, and he succeeded. Spend time inside: the painting quality rewards a closer look than a quick circuit of the nave.
The church faces directly onto the Plaza Borda and is surrounded on all sides by the silver shops and restaurants that define Taxco's center. It's open most of the day; come in the early morning if you want the interior to yourself before the day-trippers arrive from Mexico City.