The internationally renowned Cathedral Square, originally called Plaza de la Ciénaga (Swamp Square) was built on a marshland plagued with underground streams and very close to the bay, whose waters also penetrated the area. Work on the buildings began in the last quarter of the 18th Century. The church of the Jesuits was granted the category of cathedral in 1789. No one has ever referred to it as Swamp Square since. The two hundred year old cathedral stands in a beautiful square. It is open for services and was declared National Monument.Place: Ciudad de La Habana. Calle Empedrado # 156. Old Havana. Cuba
Located in historical Revolution Square in the center of Havana. This site offers visitors a view of the life and works of the National Hero of the Republic of Cuba. The base of the monument consists of four exhibition halls. The viewpoint on the last floor of the obelisk (138 m), also the highest point in the city, offers a magnificent panoramic view of Havana.
The oldest space of the city surrounded by the most important political, military, religious and civil buildings of the town: la Real Casa de Correos (1772-90), Palacio del Segundo Cabo and Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (1776-91). In 1955, a statue of the Father of the Homeland, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, stands in the center of the square.
Located in the former Presidential Palace, the museum exhibits a large number of objects of extraordinary historical importance related to the struggle for independence of the Cuban people. The Granma memorial is situated in the surrounding area and exhibits the boat, protected by a glass case, that Fidel Castro and 82 revolutionaries used to return to Cuba from exile in Mexico and thus initiated the final struggle for the independence of Cuba.
Towards the end of the 16th Century, the square was known as the Plaza Nueva (New Square), however after the construction of the Plaza Nueva del Cristo (New Square of Christ) in the 18th Century, it was then called Plaza Vieja (Old Square). The buildings that surround this open space are of unquestionable architectural and artistic importance and typify Cuban architecture of the 18th Century. After the complete refurbishment of the central fountain, the square has recovered its original splendour.
Currently the venue of the Office of the Historian of Havana, the palace was built in 1776 and has been given several functions: official residence of the Spanish governors, Presidential Palace and Municipal Palace of Havana. The City Museum currently occupies part of the sumptuous halls that exhibit valuable treasures such as: the first Cuban flag, personal effects of the heroes of Cuba: Jose Martí, Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo together with a priceless collection of colonial furniture, carriages and other works of art.
