Located at the core of the historical city center of Havana, it constitutes the seat of the Archdiocese of Havana.
Possessing a Baroque-Tuscan style in its exterior structure, what immediately stands out are the two bell towers rising above its structure which make for the visual symbols of this building that began construction in the first half of the now distant XVIII century. In the interior of this church that was consecrated to the Immaculate Conception, one observes varied traces of the presence of fine art in the island’s past thanks to the frescos left behind on its walls and ceilings by the French painter Jean-Baptiste Vermay and the Italian painter Perovani. The visitor eyes are usually drawn to the beautiful mosaics formed on the floor of the religious property by its white and black colored tiles.
The construction of the edifice was commenced by the Jesuits to officiate services corresponding to their order, but following the expulsion of the Order of Jesus from Spanish domains at the start of the XVIII century, the structure was then redirected to house the city Cathedral.
The institution became at one point “itinerant” when a fire, in 1772, laid waste to its original facilities settled on the grounds that would later on be occupied by the Palace of the Captain Generals in the Arms Square.