Museo Casa de La Bola, Mexico City

This eclectic construction, occupied by a Spanish Catholic Inquisitor in the first half of the 16th century, has many a story to tell both through its architecture and the objects within, acquired over the course of time. According to legend, one of its most distinguished inhabitants was Jose Zorrilla, the creator of the literary figure Don Juan Tenorio. In 1842, the property was purchased by Antonio Haghenbeck, who decorated it with European tapestries, ornate mirrors, oil lamps and European and Mexican art, converting it into an eclectic town-house, which we can now admire in its entirety. According to the property deeds, this house has been called la Casa de la Bola, or the House of the Ball since the 19th century. The name alludes, perhaps, to some spherical element that once decorated the façade. On Don Antonios death, his old residence was bequeathed to the public and his specific orders were that it should be turned into a museum.