There are two inner courtyards in the building, located in the center of each wing and adorned with sculptures. They provide light and ventilation to the offices on the ground floor. The inner courtyard of the north wing contains the statue of Mephistopheles, the angel known also as Lucifer. The statue is called El Ángel Rebelde (the Rebellious Angel) and it is the work of the Sicilian artist Salvatore Buemi. It was brought from Italy to Cuba by the politician Orestes Ferrara that donated it to the building in 1932. Unlike the effigies erected to Lucifer in the world in that he always appears defeated and humiliated, this statue in El Capitolio is unique in the world by representing the angel defiantly and arrogantly. His right arm is raised toward the sky and his fist is closed demonstrating a rebellious attitude.  With his left hand he points to himself, requesting people to follow only him.

The basement of the building that is just below the Hall of Lost Steps, is restored to a space to pay tribute to the martyrs of the struggle for the independence of Cuba. The project was part of the work of the architect Félix Cabarrocas and it was built under the direction of the architect Eugenio Raynieri Piedra. The visitors can access this place through the gate below the stairway on the right side. In the center of the hall you will see a hexagonal star on the marble floor. In its center an eternal flame is placed that is perfectly aligned on a vertical axis through the diamond on the ground of the Hall of the Lost Steps and the center of the cupola. Opposite to the eternal flame, a marble sarcophagus preserves the remains of an unknown mambí, brought from the Pantheon of the Veterans of the Independence of the Cemetery of Columbus. On the sarcophagus it is written Al Mambí Desconocido (To the unknown Mambí). At its feet a wreath stands out that is renewed every week as the offering of the President.

The cenotaph is surrounded by the flags of the Latin American nations. In a niche opposite the sarcophagus you will see the marble replica of the Estatua de la Republica. At the walls you can see the bronze national shield of Cuba, the notes of the anthem Bayamo, composed by Pedro Perucho Figueredo Cisneros, and the words of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes when he was proclaimed President in the Assembly of Guaimaro in 1869.

1 / 5

Al Mambí Desconocido, surrounded by the flags of the Latin American nations

2 / 5

the marble replica of the Estatua de la Republica

3 / 5

the eternal flame

4 / 5

the notes of the anthem Bayamo

5 / 5

the talk of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

❮ ❯

Photographing is strictly forbidden inside of the crypt in order to show respect to the memory of the martyrs.