The National Capitol of Cuba, also known as ''Capitolio Nacional de La Habana (National Capitol of La Habana)'', and often simply referred to as ''El Capitolio'' ''(The Capitol)'', is a public edifice in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The building was commissioned by Cuban president

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...

and built from 1926 to 1929 under the direction of Eugenio Rayneri Piedra.

History

The Havana Capitol building was built on land that was a railroad terminal and used to belong to the Villanueva Railway. The project began in April 1926, during the

administration. Construction was overseen by the U.S. firm of Purdy and Henderson. "El Capitolio" is 207 meters long and 91 meters wide. Although its design is often compared to the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

, it is not a replica. finish its construction they needed more than 5000 workers, 3 years, 3 months and 20 days; as well as approximately 17 million American dollars". Completed in 1929, it was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s. It houses the world's third largest indoor statue. On August 30, 2019, the historian of the city Eusebio Leal proclaimed the end of the renovation with the unveiling of the dome.

Building

The cupola, which is stone-clad around a steel frame that was constructed in the United States, is set planimetrically forward on the building to allow for the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

that contains ''La Republica'', the "Statue of the Republic". At almost high, the dome was the highest point in the city of Havana until 1956 when the FOCSA Building was built reaching a height of 121 meters (397 ft). The Capitolio had the third-highest dome in the world at the time of its construction. According to Eugenio Rayneri Piedra, the inspiration for the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

came from the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by way of

Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rom ...

's Tempietto in San Pietro in Montorio. The 56 steps leading to the main entrance, ''La Escalinata,'' is flanked by statues by the Italian artist Angelo Zanelli. To the left is ''Work'' (''El Trabajo'') and to the right ''The Tutelary Virtue'' (''La Virtud Tutelar''). The steps lead up to the central

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, which is wide and more than tall. There are 12

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

columns in the

ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

arranged in two rows and each over tall. The inside of the main hall under the cupola is the ''Statue of the Republic'' (''La Estatua de la República''). The statue, also by Zanelli, was cast in bronze in Rome in three pieces and assembled inside the building after its arrival in Cuba. It is covered with 22 carat (92%)

gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...

and weighs 49 tons. At tall, it was the second highest statue under cover in the world at the time, with only the Great Buddha of Nara being taller. The statue stands on a plinth high bringing the total height to . Embedded in the floor in the center of the main hall is a replica 25 carat (5 g) diamond, which marks Kilometre Zero for Cuba. The original diamond, said to have belonged to

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Nicholas II of Russia and have been sold to the Cuban state by a Turkish merchant, was stolen on 25 March 1946 and mysteriously returned to the President, Ramón Grau San Martín, on 2 June 1947. To either side of the main hall is the ''Salón de Pasos Perdidos'' (''Hall of Lost Steps''), named for its acoustic properties. These halls, with inlaid marble floors and gilded lamps, lead to the two semicircular chambers that formerly housed the Parliament and Chamber of Deputies. A range of different lamps is seen throughout the building. In the center of the building are two patios which provide light and ventilation for the offices on the first (ground), third and fourth floors. The north patio features another statue ''The Rebellious Angel'' (''El Ángel Rebelde'') which was donated to the building after the inauguration. A wide granite staircase of 56 steps, 36 meters wide and 16 meters high, leads to the portico of the building. There are two rows of six columns of the Ionic order. The pillars stand out with a diameter of 1.55 meters and a height of 14.10 meters.

Statue of the Republic

Located in the apse, the Statue of the Republic is the figure of a young woman standing, dressed in a tunic, with a helmet, shield and lance; it weighs 30 tons, is 14.60 meters high, and rests on a marble pedestal of 2.50 meters. It was sculpted by Angelo Zanelli, author of the

Altare della Patria The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (), also known as the Vittoriano or for synecdoche Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king ...

, part of the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II, in Rome. It is the third largest indoor statue in the world, surpassed only by the Buddha of Nara, Japan and the Abraham Lincoln statue in the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...

in Washington. D.C.

Gallery

File:Construccion Capitolio. Habana. 4 mayo 1929. - panoramio.jpg, ''El Capitolio'' under construction in May 1929 File:Havana Capitol Building-2.jpg, Aerial view (1940s) File:El Capitolio, Havana, Cuba LCCN2010638891.tif, ''La Cámara'' File:Capitol library.jpg, The library File:09423 - Havanna Capitol E facade.jpg, Eastern facade by night

References

General

* * * *

Cited

External links

Construcción del Capitolio Nacional de La Habana 1929

Cuba. Secretaría de Obras Públicas. Proyecto para la construcción de las Obras del Palacio del Congreso. Conjunto de Bocetos
{{Authority control 20th-century architecture in Cuba Buildings and structures in Havana Former seats of national legislatures Government buildings completed in 1929 Government buildings with domes Kilometre-zero markers Neoclassical architecture in Cuba Tourist attractions in Havana