Cathedral of Havana

Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada
Plaza de la Catedral of Havana (Jan 2014)
Basic information
Location	Havana, Cuba
Geographic coordinates	23°08′28.97″N 82°21′06.90″W / 23.1413806°N 82.3519167°W / 23.1413806; -82.3519167Coordinates: 23°08′28.97″N 82°21′06.90″W / 23.1413806°N 82.3519167°W / 23.1413806; -82.3519167
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Architectural description
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Baroque
Groundbreaking	1748
Completed	1777

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception (known in Spanish as La Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana) is one of eleven Roman Catholic cathedrals on the island of Cuba. It is located in the Plaza de la Catedral in the center of Old Havana. The thirty-four by thirty-five meter rectanglular church serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Cristobal de la Habana.

The church was built in a Baroque style with several Tuscan elements and is considered one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Cuba. The building is mainly constructed from blocks of coral cut from sources in the Gulf of Mexico's ocean floor. Preserved marine fossils are present in the facade.

The right bell tower is wider than the left. The larger tower contains two bells that were cast with gold and silver mixed into bronze which gives them an elegant and sweeter tone. The cathedral is said to be the only example of a Baroque facade with such a distinctive asymmetrical feature. The asymmetrical bell towers allow for water that tends to accumulate on the plaza after a heavy rainfall to flow through the streets and out to the ocean. The plaza is located on the site of a swamp that was drained and used as a naval dockyard before the cathedral was built.

The cathedral can be categorized as an early Cuban Baroque facade because of its many curves and double curves that turn into column-like pilaster structures on the facade, which are ornamental rather than structural. The use of pediments is another defining Baroque feature. Despite its grandiose exterior, the inside of the building is much more simple, even austere. The interior of the cathedral was extremely ornate until its "cleansing of excess ornamentation" in the 19th century. The cathedral's interior is in the neoclassical style, It has white and black marble floors, three naves covered with wooden vaults, massive stone pillars, and eight side chapels.