The thirty by forty-nine meters rectangular church serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana.

[a] In 1796, after the Peace of Basel was signed and Spain ceded most of Hispaniola to France, the remains of Columbus were moved and laid to rest in the Havana Cathedral's Altar of the Gospel.

The gravestone read: Oh Remains and Image of Great Columbus, Be Preserved One Thousand Years in the Funerary Urn.

[5] In the early 19th century, the baroque altars were replaced by neoclassical ones, urged by Bishop Espada, a fervent admirer of Neoclassicism and the original wood ceilings were plastered over.

One can see fossilized marine fauna and flora in the stone walls as the cathedral is, as many buildings in Havana are, constructed out of blocks of coral.

Perovani was also the author of the canvas of the orange chapel (color of the ceiling) of the Virgin of Loreto, blessed by Bishop Morell de Santa Cruz in 1755.