Colon Cemetery Chapel: One of the Most Iconic in Havana

The Colon Cemetery is the biggest cemetery in the Americas and offers travelers and art lovers in Havana numerous possibilities to appreciate art, especially sculptures and statues. More than a mere cemetery, Colon is a huge outdoor museum with more than 56.000 tombs.

However, there are many impressive things at Colon Cemetery. The artistic value of hundreds of pantheons reveals a sample of Cuban architectural history. The creations inspired a feeling of devotion, regardless the origin and social condition of the buried citizens. Behind each one of the representations that safeguard the last rest, famous architects and sculptors from Cuba and all over the world have intervened with their art with their different motivations and styles.

We recommend The Chapel at the Colon Cemetery. It is one of the most iconic religious buildings in Havana, singular for its architectural style. Why is this chapel unique?
We can start by its octagonal labyrinths that are also present in some gothic French cathedral – such as Amiens, Reims, Arras – and that let many travelers asking a lot of questions without any reliable answer.

The number 8 has a broad meaning. The eighth day of the Creation is symbolically considered as the resurrection of Christ, the reason why the baptismal fonts are often octagonal. It remembers the eternal life obtained through the baptism. The resurrection comes from fighting, from refusing the mundane desires, of the liberation of the wheel of existence and suffering. In Buddhism, it is also expressed through the Eightfold Path, and in the Sufism by the symbol of the Octagon.

The Chapel at the Colon Cemetery

And in Numerology, this number is related to the karma, because, in times when its influence is preponderant, it’s when we receive a boomerang of the effects of our past acts. When visiting, you can’t skip visiting the Chapel of Colon Cemetery.