EL TEMPLETE

Inaugurated on March 19, 1828, this small Greco-Roman temple that looks like a miniature Parthenon is the work of Cuban architect Antonio María de la Torre. It is the first neoclassical public building in Havana. It is reached by climbing three stone steps from Jaimanitas (a village in the west of the city). It is built to commemorate several events: the first mass, which is said to have taken place in 1519, and the constitution of the first cabildo, or city council, in the shade of a cheese tree. The entrance faces the square.