Historicism, also called Romanticism, developed mainly in the century and beginning of the 19th century, concentrated all its efforts on recovering the architecture of past times. It was about imitating architectural styles from other eras by incorporating some cultural characteristics of that century, while eclectic architecture was dedicated to mixing styles to give shape to something new.

Various currents can be highlighted such as neo-Byzantine, neo-Mudejar and neo-baroque, although the most popular was neo-Gothic, practiced in the British Isles, which was based, as its name indicates, on a new resurrected Gothic. Among the buildings made in this style, the British Parliament stands out, designed by A. W. Pugin (1812-1852) and Charles Barry (1795-1860). Some oriental variants were also very important, such as the Indian-neo-Gothic, of which the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the work of John Nash (1752-1835), is an example. In Spain, the neo-Mudejar movement stood out as an expression of its own national style.

In the Ibero-American arts of the late 19th century, due to the nationalism that Romanticism brought to the scene, the desire to find "national identity" can be observed. As for architecture, this was reflected thanks to historicism. Historicist architecture in Latin America attempted to imitate pre-Hispanic architecture and reinterpret it following the contemporary canons of the era or period.[1]​[2]​.