CubaPLUS Magazine

El Templete is a truly distinctive monument, marking the very spot where Havana was founded. Today, it stands as a focal point for visitors drawn to the history and culture of the country.

Located in Plaza de Armas in Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this small Greco-Roman style temple rises on the site where the Cuban capital was established in its present location on November 16, 1516.

The building was inaugurated in 1828 and, according to experts, it was the first neoclassical structure in the city, as well as one of the civil works that most influenced Cuban architecture.

Its façade features a portico of six Doric columns supporting a decorated frieze and a prominent pediment bearing a commemorative inscription marking its inauguration. The rear façade includes four pilasters with Doric capitals and additional ornamental details. The roof is flat, crowned with a wide cornice, and the interior floors are made of marble.

Inside, the building is adorned with three large canvases by the French painter Jean-Baptiste Vermay, founder of Havana’s San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts. These works depict key moments in the city’s founding.

Outside the temple stands the Columna de Cagigal, erected in honor of Governor Francisco Cagigal, topped with an image of the Virgin of Pilar, patroness of Spanish sailors. Nearby is a bust of the conquistador Hernando de Soto, the island’s first governor, as well as a ceiba tree commemorating the original one beneath which the first mass and the first town council of the Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana were held.

The tree, replaced several times over the years, remains the center of a deeply rooted tradition. Every year, on the eve of November 16, hundreds of locals and visitors gather at the site. They walk three times around the ceiba, drop a coin at its base, and, in silence, make a wish.

The entire enclosure is surrounded by iron spearhead fencing with bronze tips, supported by pillars topped with pinecone-shaped ornaments, adding a subtle tropical touch to its neoclassical design.

Considered a treasure of Cuba’s colonial architecture, El Templete has endured the passage of time and remains a historic, beautiful, and highly photogenic site that captures the attention of every passerby.