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Catedral de la Purisíma Concepción
The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception is just in front of Parque Jose Marti and is the parish church for this area. It has a peculiar characteristic highlighted with two large re-capped bell towers of different heights almost making it appear like a design flaw.
High on one of the arches of the neo-classical façade is a bronze plate with an inscription celebrating the memory of a priest called Francisco Esquembre Guzman. He was shot on April 30th 1870 for his role in Cuba’s fight for independence although it doesn’t indicate what his activity was.
When Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by Don Luis de Clouet it developed very quickly. Within no time at all the first Parish Church was erected but misfortune soon visited the town in the form of a hurricane and destroyed the church in 1825. Apparently, there is a signed sketch of the said church by a Navy Lieutenant from the Félix Boullón armada in the national archives.
The building of that first church cost 3,000 pesetas. In an ironic after thought a note intended for the parish was handed over saying that they should have built a much smaller one not costing more than 2,000.
This present one was almost complete in 1833 with most of the essential things in working order but then a series of discussions continued about adding extra bits like a bell tower and portico. And so it went that the final completion was temporarily put back while improvements were made and collections and donations poured in.
This reached a critical stage in 1863 when Don Luis Zafari drew up more plans to expand the church and they finally took the decision to build it from scratch. This building project began three years later and they commissioned the engineer Santiago Murray with its completion.
The construction lasted for six years and culminated with the arrival of a clock all the way from Europe that had four dials, an organ and distinctive ornaments like the French stained glass windows of the Twelve Apostles.
The Immaculate Conception was finally ready for its inauguration on the 8th of December 1869.
References
http://www.planetware.com/cienfuegos/cathedral-cub-ci-cc.htm
Juan de las Cuevas Toraya, 500 Años De Construcciones En Cuba, Havana 2001, pp77-78
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