Capitolio Nacional

Lonely Planet review

Habana's most grandiose building, the Capitolio is similar to the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, but taller and much richer in detail. It was initiated by Cuba's US-backed dictator Gerardo Machado in 1926 and took 5000 workers three years, two months and 20 days to build at a cost of around US$17 million. Once the seat of the Cuban Congress, it now houses the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science & Technology.

Constructed with white Capellanía limestone and block granite, the entrance is guarded by six rounded Doric columns atop a staircase that leads up from Paseo de Martí. A stone cupola rising 62m and topped with a replica of 16th-century Florentine sculptor Giambologna's bronze statue of Mercury looks out over the Habana skyline. Directly below the dome is a copy of a 24-carat diamond set in the floor. Highway distances between Habana and all sites in Cuba are calculated from this point.

The entryway opens up into the Salon de los Pasos Perdidos (Room of the Lost Steps), so named because of the room's unusual acoustics. At the center of the salon is the 'Statue of the Republic,' an enormous bronze woman standing 11m tall and representing the mythic guardian of virtue and work.

Tours of the Capitolio are well worth the small fee.