Havana Cathedral: “music set in stone,” with two bell towers that were never meant to match
Sulla Plaza de la Catedral, nel cuore dell’Avana Vecchia, i gesuiti iniziarono la costruzione della cattedrale nel 1748, sul sito di un edificio precedente; i lavori proseguirono, dopo l’espulsione dell’ordine gesuita dai territori spagnoli nel 1767, sotto la direzione del clero secolare, fino al completamento nel 1777 e alla consacrazione nel 1782. L’edificio divenne formalmente sede vescovile nella seconda metà degli anni 1780, sebbene le fonti non concordino sull’anno esatto. Costruita in blocchi di pietra corallina, la cattedrale è considerata l’esempio più celebre del barocco cubano, nota soprattutto per la sua facciata asimmetrica, con due torri campanarie di altezza diversa: lo scrittore cubano Alejo Carpentier la descrisse come “musica pietrificata”. Tra il 1795 e il 1796, dopo che la Spagna cedette Santo Domingo alla Francia, quelle che si credevano le spoglie di Cristoforo Colombo furono trasferite qui dalla cattedrale di Santo Domingo, restando all’Avana fino al 1898, quando, dopo l’indipendenza cubana, furono nuovamente spostate, questa volta a Siviglia, dove riposano tuttora. L’autenticità di quei resti rimane contestata, poiché anche Santo Domingo rivendica di custodire le vere spoglie dell’ammiraglio. Dal 1982 la cattedrale fa parte del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO dell’Avana Vecchia e del suo sistema di fortificazioni.
About Havana Cathedral
Havana Cathedral, on the Plaza de la Catedral in the heart of Old Havana, began construction under the Jesuit order in 1748, on the site of an earlier building; work continued, following the 1767 expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories, under secular clergy direction, reaching completion in 1777 and consecration in 1782. The building formally became a cathedral, seat of its own diocese, in the late 1780s, though sources disagree on the exact year. Built of coral stone, the cathedral stands as the most celebrated example of Cuban Baroque architecture, renowned above all for its distinctive asymmetrical facade, framed by two bell towers of unequal height and design — a feature that inspired the Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier’s frequently cited description of the building as “music turned to stone.” Between 1795 and 1796, following Spain’s cession of Santo Domingo to France, what were believed to be the remains of Christopher Columbus were transferred here from Santo Domingo Cathedral, remaining in Havana until 1898, when, following Cuban independence, they were moved once again, this time to Seville, Spain, where they rest today. The authenticity of those remains stays genuinely disputed, since Santo Domingo Cathedral also claims to hold the admiral’s true remains, and a 2024 DNA study on the Seville remains, while widely reported as confirmatory, has not settled the matter to universal scholarly satisfaction. Since 1982, Havana Cathedral has formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Old Havana and its Fortification System,” and it remains today the seat of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de La Habana and one of the city’s most visited landmarks.
Key facts
- 1748-1777: construction, begun by the Jesuit order and completed after their 1767 expulsion
- 1782: consecration; formal cathedral status followed in the late 1780s
- Asymmetrical facade with two unequal bell towers, the cathedral’s defining feature
- 1795/96-1898: the cathedral holds what were believed to be Christopher Columbus’s remains
- 1898: the remains relocated to Seville, Spain, following Cuban independence
- 1982: the cathedral becomes part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Old Havana and its Fortification System”
History
Havana Cathedral’s transition from Jesuit church to diocesan cathedral, completed only after the sweeping 1767 expulsion of the Jesuit order from the Spanish empire, reflects the broader political upheavals that shaped Catholic institutional life across colonial Spanish America in the 18th century. Its century-long role as the resting place of remains believed to be Christopher Columbus’s placed the cathedral, for a time, at the centre of one of the most enduring disputed legacies in the history of the Americas, a controversy that persists between Havana’s former custodianship, Santo Domingo’s ongoing claim, and Seville’s current possession.
What you see
The cathedral’s coral stone facade, a leading example of Cuban Baroque architecture, is framed by two visibly unequal bell towers, its asymmetry standing in deliberate contrast to the more formal symmetry typical of contemporary Spanish colonial church design. The building faces onto the Plaza de la Catedral, one of Old Havana’s five principal historic squares, surrounded by colonial-era palaces and mansions that together form one of the best-preserved ensembles of Spanish colonial urban architecture in the Caribbean.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily with seasonal variation; admission fee may apply; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Plaza de la Catedral, Old Havana, Cuba
Getting there
Havana Cathedral stands on the Plaza de la Catedral in the heart of Old Havana, easily reached on foot within the historic district. GPS: 23.1382° N, 82.3511° W.
Nearby
- Plaza de la Catedral — the historic square directly in front of the cathedral
- Palacio del Conde Lombillo — colonial-era mansion on the same square
- Plaza Vieja — another of Old Havana’s historic squares, a short walk away
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Havana Cathedral” (en.wikipedia.org)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “Old Havana and its Fortification System” (whc.unesco.org)
- Lonely Planet — “Catedral de la Habana” (lonelyplanet.com)
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