Church del Espíritu Santo, Havana
The Iglesia del Espíritu Santo is a colonial church at #702 Calle Cuba in Old Havana, Havana, Cuba, was built in 1635 on the corner of the corner of Calles Cuba and Acosta. The Espíritu Santo contains some notable paintings including a seated, post-crucifixion Christ on the right wall, and catacombs. It is considered one of the oldest temples in Havana. Free blacks, already numerous, devoted the church to the Holy Spirit in 1638. History The church was rebuilt and expanded in 1648 and given the rank of a parish. During the colonial era it had exceptional importance, since by a papal bull of 1772 and a Royal Certificate of 1773, of Charles III of Spain, it was declared "Única Iglesia inmune en esta ciudad, construida en 1772." ("the only immune church in this city, built-in 1772."); any persecuted individual could find Amparo (sanctuary) in it against the action of the authorities or of justice. A metal plaque at the foot of the bell tower attests to this fact. In 1863 it was rebuilt by order of the Father Paules, who turned it into the beautiful church it is today. Many illustrious people of Havana were baptized in this church, among them the educator José de la Luz y Caballero. Bishop Gerónimo Valdés, a founder of La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana, was buried in the church; the master sepulcher of Bishop Valdés was found in 1936. Paintings There are original paintings by the Cuban painter José Nicolás de la Escalera ("Cuba's first painter") and Arístides Fernández (20th century), among them the large oil painting titled The Burial of Christ. Architecture The Iglesia del Espíritu Santo's greatest interest from an architectural point of view lies in the simplicity of the coral stone construction and the lack of lavish decoration. Other elements of great importance are the funerary crypts that were discovered in 1953. The crypt is from times before the Colon Cemetery (1876) in El Vedado was built. The crypt is entered from the left of the altar and contains several catacombs. Cuban uni-nave The building was built in the "uni-nave" style, as pointed out by Joaquín Weiss, a Cuban architect, and historian and one of the most authoritative authorities on the subject. Uni-nave was the style of Cuban religious constructions in the seventeenth century and meant that it originally had only one central nave. An additional side nave In the first years of the 18th century, the bell tower was built and around 1720 the vault of the presbytery was built. In 1760, Bishop D. Pedro Morell of Santa Cruz ordered the construction of a nave (8x29m) lateral to the main temple nave. The church sits on a plinth of about 18 cm that may be seen along Calles Cuba and Acosta. The building is 60m long as measured on the exterior, east–west along Calle Acosta, although from the interior it appears that the last 10m was a later addition as the walls of this ten-meter