With dazzling golden gleams and the haunting whiteness of washed marble, the dome of the National Capitol finally saw the skies of Havana again on August 30th, after several years of restoration.
Eusebio Leal, the city historian, had called on the entire population of the capital yesterday to gather around the largest palace on the island and one of the six most important of its kind in the world.
When the covers protecting the dome were drawn back during the restoration work, many applauded wildly at the beautiful spectacle of golden sparkles with which one of the main jewels of Cuban architecture will await the advent of the half-millennium of San Cristóbal de La Habana next November.
"When the curtains of the Capitol come down and the flickering light of the lantern can once again be seen," Leal Spengler had said, "we Cubans will understand that we cannot renounce beauty and that we must continue working to make our city worthy of its great history."

It looks like gold… and it is gold!
Present at the unveiling were Russian specialists and technicians who were in charge of restoring one of the Capitol's most important components: the immense dome, which reaches a height of 91.73 meters (higher than the United States dome, which inspired it).
"The Russians have extensive experience in this type of work; just look back at the palaces and cathedrals of that country, with hundreds of golden domes. They applied a gold patina to each copper sheet placed over the dome's arches, leaving the building as beautiful, if not more so, than at the time of its inauguration 90 years ago," argued an architect from the Cuban team involved in the restoration.

These same specialists worked on the laborious and complex restoration of the Statue of the Republic, also gilded and one of the largest and most striking indoor effigies in the world. Likewise restored were the two colossal sculptures flanking the main entrance by Italian sculptor Angelo Zanelli, representing Labor (on the left) and Tutelary Virtue (on the right).
Havana's Capitol Building is a myth of world architecture, and many recognize it as one of the six most important and distinctive palaces of its kind in the world. It is undoubtedly one of Havana's undeniable postcard images, along with the Morro, the Malecón, and Havana Cathedral. Along with the nearby Almendrones (old buildings), it can be seen in postcards, paintings, engravings, and reproductions throughout the world.

Originally intended for the Congress of the Republic, it currently houses the National Assembly of People's Power (Parliament) and previously served as the headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA).
The palace orcupCovering an area of 388 square meters, it lies between Paseo del Prado, Industria, Dragones, and San José avenues. It was erected by then-Cuban President Gerardo Machado on May 700, 20, as a tribute to the constitution of the Republic of Cuba.
The building was originally intended to house the National Congress; however, after 1959, it was stripped of all legislative functions and housed various administrative bodies, most recently the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment. More recently, thanks to the mediation of several Cuban intellectuals and the historian of the city of Havana, the government was persuaded to relocate the headquarters of the National Assembly of People's Power to this colossal building.

Both Fidel Castro's decision to remove Parliament from its historic headquarters and the more recent decision to relocate the national parliament there have been decisions questioned by many Cubans, who believe that the palace should have been left untouched as an absolute guarantor of Cuban democracy.
The National Capitol, with its neoclassical façade, although inspired by the Capitol in Washington, borrows some elements from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Pantheon in Paris. The building features a dome that reaches 91,73 m in height.

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1 comments
The Capitol with the cupThe house is already falling on people's heads. Great.