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Cathedral of Havana
Northwest of Plaza de Armas, the cathedral is the old city’s proudest edifice (open only for the Sun day mass). With subtly differing towers flanking the gently con cave baroque façade, it lends an Italianate, theatrical appearance to the square. The St Ignatius church of the Jesuits, not quite completed at the time of their expulsion in 1767, became the Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Habana 20 years later. Arch bishop de Espada enlarged it in the 19th century, adding a marble floor and baroque altars with neo classical mahogany. The frescoes behind the high altar are by Giuseppe Perovani, and the paintings of the Ascension, Last Supper and Power of the Church by Jean- Baptiste Vermay. The much disputed remains of Christopher Columbus were brought here from Santo Domingo and jealously held in the main chapel until begrudgingly transferred to Seville at the end of Spanish rule in 1898. A popular arts and crafts market is held on the cathedral square, particularly active at the week end. Directly opposite the cathedral is the Museum of Colonial Art housed in the square’s oldest building, Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona (1720). It exhibits furniture, porcelain and other Spanish colonial ornaments. On the east side of the square is the Palacio del Marques de Arcos (1746), which became the city’s main post office in the 19th century and today houses an office of Telecorreo Intemacional, with a carved stone mask still operating as a mailbox. Next to it stands the 18th-century Casa de Lombillo, now used as an education museum. Across the plaza, in the Casa del Marques de Aguas Claras, a beautiful inside court yard with a marble fountain now serves as the terrace of the El Patio bar and restaurant. Next to the cathedral, at San Ignacio 22, is the Centro Wilfredo Lam. Along with shows of African, Asian and Latin American artists, the gallery exhibits the works of this Cuban painter, a leading Surrealist much influenced by his contact with Picasso and African folk art.
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