Museo
Nacional de Bellas Artes
Museum
of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1913 and transferred
to its present location in 1955. Originally it comprised
archaeology, ethnography, history, painting and sculpture,
but is now specialized in the fine arts.
The
museum has three collections Cuban art from the 17th century
to the present, with works by Miguel Melero, Estaban Chartrand,
Armando Menocal, Victor Manuel, Portocarrero, Wifredo
Lam, Servando Cabrerra, Amelia Pelaez and others. European
Painting: originals by Rubens, Murillo, Zurbaran, Velazquez,
Goya, Hans Memling and others.
The
Museum also houses Cuba's finest collection of ancient
art: Egyptian, Greek and Floman pieces in Latin America,
including funerary portraits from Al Fayyum of the 2nd
to the 4th centuries.
Address:
Calle Trocadero entre Agramonte (Zulueta) y Ave. de las
Misiones (Monserrate), La Habana Vieja.
Open: Wednesday to Sunday: 09:00 to 17:00
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Museo de la Ciudad
de Habana
The
Museum of the City was installed in the Palace of the
Captains General, the stately baroque residence of the
colonial Governors of Cuba for more than 100 years and
the most impressive building on the Plaza de Armas (the
former Parade Grounds). This palace, built in 1791, was
the
seat of colonial power until1898, when the Republic was
created. Between 1902 and 1920, it was the official residence
of the Presidents of the Republic, and from 1920 to 1950,
the headquarters of the City Government of Havana. The
museum's collections provide a panoramic view of the history
of the city from the founding to the present. The most
important rooms are devoted to the Cuban wars for national
independence.
The
"Hall of Flags" contains the original Cuban
flag and the one flown by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes when
he began the first war for independence in 1868, as well
as a number of flags used by the Spanish colonial government
in Cuba. The art collection contains objects, paintings,
porcelains, silver, bronzes and furniture of great historical
value and beauty.
Address:
Calle Tacon e/ Obispo y O'Reilly, Habana Vieja.
Open:Tuesday to Saturday: 11:30 to 17:00.
Sundays: 09:00 to 12:00. Closed Mondays.
Museo de Arte Colonial
Colonial Art Museum
The Colonial Art Museum, built in 1720, is located on
Cathedral Square, one of the most beautiful and best preserved
squares in Old Havana. The building was once the home
of Don Luis Chacon, a Havana-born colonial who had the
rare privilege of being Military Governor of Cuba, a position
reserved typically for Spaniards, on three occasions.
The
museum's rooms and halls exhibit a representative collection
of the decorations and furnishings of the great colonial
mansions of Havana in the 18th and 19th centuries, as
well as architectural elements such as the stained-glass
arches (a sort of multicolored fan crowning doors an windows)
which are one of the most beautiful expressions of Cuban
colonial architecture.
Address:
San Ignacio No.61, Plaza
de la Catedral, La Habana Vieja
Open: Mondays, Wednesday to Saturday:
09:00 to 17:00. Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Tuesdays.
Museo Numismático
Numismatic
Museum
The most complete collection of Cuban coins is on exhibit
in this museum located in the former Monte de Piedad,
very near to the Plaza de Armas (Parade Grounds). The
over 1,500 pieces are grouped in a historical chronology
based on the different periods in the development of our
nation: colonial, Republic in Arms, US intervention, insurrection
and revolutionary Cuba.
Among
the more interesting pieces in the collection are 20 very
valuable gold coins. Also on exhibit are medals, decorations,
tokens that were issued at sugar mills .for the "company
store," paper money, bonds, lottery tickets, numismatic
documents and counterfeits detected in the country. Some
of the other collections include bills and coins from
other parts of the world, some very old, valuable private
collections and rare coins.
Address:
Calle Oficlos No.8 e/ Obispo y Obrapia, Habana Vieja
Open:Tuesday to Saturday: 13:00 to 20:00.
Sundays 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays
Museum of Literacy
(Museo de la Educación)
Empredaro #151, Habana Vieja
Museo del Pueblo
Combatiente
(Museum of the Fighting
People)
Avenida 5ta #7201, Havana Miramar
Museum
of Natural History
The
Museum of Natural History is the most important and largest
institution of its kind in the country, with rooms devoted
to the flora and fauna of Cuba and other parts of the
world; rich collections of shells, insects and minerals;
a general anthropology room and a valuable Cuban Indian
archaeology room depicting the daily life of our Indians.
This room contains a life-size reproduction of the cave
at Punta del Este, Isle of Youth, declared a National
Monument for its
unique wall paintings. There is also a planetarium and
the "Hall of the Cosmos."
The
Museum is home to considerable educational and scientific
extension work with the general population, as well as
with the country's cultural and scientific institutions.
Address:
Paseo de Marti (Paseo del Prado) entre Dragones y San
Martin (San Jose), La Habana Vleja.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 10:15 to 17:45.
Sundays: 09:15 to 12:45. Closed Mondays
Museo de la Revolución
Museum
of the Revolution and Granma Memorial
The luxurious mansion that was the residence of the Presidents
of the Republic between 1920 and 1960 now holds the Museum
of the Revolution, devoted to the national rebellion of
the Cuban people.
Its
halls contain a detailed panorama of the country's struggles
for national sovereignty in a historical discourse supported
by abundant testimonial material made up of photographs,
original documents, mock- ups, weapons, personal belongings
of revolutionary fighters, recordings, videos and films.
Adjacent
to the Museum is the "Granma Memorial," the
immense glass case holding the yacht used by Fidel Castro
and over 80 revolutionary fighters to return to Cuba from
theirexile in Mexico. The landing took place on December
2, 1957, at a point on the southern coast of Oriente Province,
and that was the.beginning of the Liberation War in the
Sierra Maestra Mountains.
Address:
Refugio No 1 e/ Monserrate y Zulueta, La Habana Vieja.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 13:00 to 18:00.
Sundays: 10:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays.
Museo de Artes
Decorativas
Museum
of Decorative Arts
Installed in the sumptuous former mansion of the Countess
of Revilia de Camargo, this museum exhibits an amazing
collection of valuable pieces and works of art.
The
most varied samples of the applied arts are shown in the
permanent and temporary exhibits: the fine cabinet work
and joinery of French and English furniture in the styles
prevalent in the 18th century; original collections of
Meissen, Sevres, Wedgewood and Faillance china; collections
of Oriental porcelains; and Bacarat, Venetian and Catalonian
crystal.
A
rug woven by hand in 1772 by Franchis Carolus Romanus
is one of the museum's most treasured pieces. There is
also and important collection of Chinese screens, including
an outstanding 17th-century Coromandel.
Address:
Calle 17 No.502 e/ D y E, Vedado
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 1 1:00 to
18:30. Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays
Museo Napoleónico
Napoleonic
Museum
Thousands of kilometers from France, it is our privilege
to have one of the most complete collections of objects,
weapons, works of art and personal belongings that were
once the property of Napoleon Bonaparte, or that played
a role in his life and times. This rich collection, acquired
over the years by a wealthy figure in Cuban politics,
Orestes Ferrara, at multi-million-dollar auctions in Europe
and the United States, became part of the National Heritage
in 1960. One year later, the collection (installed in
the beautiful florentine Ferrara mansion, near the Havana
University Campus) was opened to the public.
The
exhibit rooms are organized following a chronology of
the political and military events relating to the life
of "The Great Corsican," beginning with the
end of the Bourbon monarchy and spanning Napoleon's ascent
to power, the splendor of the Empire, abdication and withdrawal
to Elba, the return, Waterloo and exile in Saint Helena.
History
flows through the objects on exhibit, the furnishings
and decor, all in keeping with the changing fashions of
the bourgeoisie in economically buoyant France. The monumental
painting of
"Bonaparte in the Bois de Boulogne," by Jean
Baptiste Regnault, is exhibited together with ebony furniture
and weapons in the Hall of the First Empire. Two other
paintings, "The Return from the Island of Elba,'
and "The Battle of Watedoo" are also on exhibit.
The
pistols Bonaparte carried at the battle of Borodino, the
hat and spy glass he used in Saint Helena, and a unique
piece, his death mask, brought to Cuba by Dr. Francesco
Antommarchi, the doctor who attended him to the end, are
also part of the museum's priceless collection.
Address:
Calle San Miguel No.1 159 esq. Ronda, Vedado, alongside
the University of Havana.
Open: Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 12:00,
13:00-16:00. Alternate Saturdays: 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00.
Closed Sundays
Felipe
Poey Museum of Natural History
The
museum's collection was compiled during the 19th century
by the eminent Cuban scientist Felipe Poey and now occupies
the ground floor of the Felipe Poey building on the campus
of Havana University. It contains unique pieces, such
as fish preserved personally by Poey in the first half
of the 19th century, the smallest bird in the world, a
stuffed specimen of an extinct species of pigeon, and
1 B endemic Cuban birds that are part of the country's
largest collection. There are also
specimens of living fossils such as the alligator gar
and exotic animals like the primitive almiqui.
This
museum is of great historical and scientific importance
because it was the fist of its kind in Cuba and because
most of its specimens were collected personally by outstanding
scientists like Don Carlos de la Torre, Grundlach, and
Felipe Poey.
Address:
Edificio "Felipe Poey", Planta Baja, Plaza Ignacio
Agramonte, Universidad de la Habana, Vedado.
Open: Monday to Friday : 09:00 to 16:00.
Closed Saturdays and Sundays.
Museo Histórico
de Guanabacoa
No
one knows exactly when Guanabacoa was founded, but it
is one of the oldest European settlements in Cuba. It
simply grew around a thriving pre-Columbian Indian settlement
and eventually became absorbed into the urban conglomerate
of Havana. The archaeological pieces from the period are
among the most important in the collection and the Guanabacoa
Museum itself is considered a jewel among Cuba's museums.
There
are also important documents, weapons and objects that
attest to the fierce resistance put up by its people to
the occupation of Havana by the English in 1762 and their
participation in the independence struggles of the 19th
and 20th centuries.
Foreign
visitors are particularly attracted by its ethnographic
collection of objects of Afro-Cuban religions, which are
very important among the people of Guanabacoa. A number
of rooms are devoted to the sacred objects of the three
main syncretic religions: Regla de Ocha, better known
as Santeria; Regla de Palo or Palo-Monte; and the Abakua
Secret Society, religions with extraordinary mythologies,
musical expressions, dances and crafts.
The
Munanso room, where the Babalawo or priest performs his
divination rituals surrounded by altars with African deities
represented by Catholic saints, is of special interest,
as are the richly ornate "offering pots" and
the representations of Eleggua, staring from the corners
with their nacre eyes.
Address:
Calle Marti No. 1 08 e/
Versalles y San Antonio, Guanabacoa.
Open: Mondays and Wednesday to Saturday:10:30
to 18:00. Closed Tuesdays
Museo de Armas
(Weapons Museum)
Calle O'Reilly #2, Habana Vieja
Museo Nacional
del Aire
(National Air Museum)
Avenida 212 y La Coronela
Cubanacán
Museo y Archivo
de la Música
National
Music Museum
The Music Museum is housed, since 1971, in a beautiful
early 20th-century eclectic mansion with neoclassical
elements. In its day, the house hosted interesting at-homes,
where artists like Federico
Garcia Lorca, Vicente Blasco Ibañez, Eduardo Zamacois,
Maria Guerrero and Rene Dumesnil were known to participate.
The
collections on exhibit offer a broad panorama of the development
of music and musical instruments in Cuba from the16th
century to the present. It also has a unique collection
of original
scores, old editions of musical documents, records, rare
and curious instruments, works of art and books. The institution
disseminates its research findings through lectures, exhibits,
concerts and specialized publications.
In
addition to the exhibits, visitors can also listen to
music in the extensive record library, and consult specialized
books and magazines.
Address:
Calle Carcel No. 1 entre Agular y Habana
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 to 18:00.
Sundays: 09:00 to 12:00. Closed Mondays.
Museo Ernest Hemingway
La
Vigia, Hemingway's country house in San Francisco
de Paula, on the outskirts of Havana, has been preserved
exactly as the great American writer left it when he went
on his last trip. Every single object, souvenir, hunting
trophy, book and piece of furniture has been zealously
preserved as an important part of the cultural heritage
of Cuba and the world. Collections include personal belongings,
books, documents
and photographs.
Address:
Finca La Vigia, San Francisco de Paula.
Open: Wednesday to Saturday: 09:00 to
16:00. Sundays: 09:00 top 12:00. Closed Tuesdays and rainy
days.
Museo Antropológico
Montane
The
Montane Museum is devoted to Cuban archaeology. The museums
focuses on exhibits that attest to the material culture
of the Indian communities that inhabited pre-Hispanic
Cuba, particularly the Siboney and Arawak (Taino and sub-Taino)
horizons. There are a number of Indian utensils, such
as the guano and the guayo, that passed into the popular
tradition of Cuba, as well as work instruments and Arawak
vases, delicate expressions of these agricultural cultures
and examples of the spiritual wealth of the earliest cultural
roots of Cuba.
Address:
Plaza Ignacio Agramonte,
Universidad de la Habana
Open: Monday to Friday : 09:00 to 12:00,
14:00 to 16:00. Alternate Saturdays: 09:00-12:00, 14:00-16:00.
Closed Sundays
Municipal
Museum of Regla
The
territory now occupied by Regla and Casablanca, on the
far side of Havana Harbor, was the site of an Indian settlement
in the 16th century. A hundred years later, a pious landowner
donated land near the sea for the shrine of Our Lady of
Regla, the nucleus of the future town. The Municipal Museum
contains the history of the founding and development of
Regla, one of the towns in Cuba that has done most for
the preservation of its traditions.
People
from Regla participated in all the country's independence
struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries, illustrious
and noble fighters for freedom whose documents, weapons,
pictures and personal belongings have been preserved for
posterity.
The
rooms devoted to religious syncretism center on the worship
of Yemaya, patron goddess of Havana Harbor, whose festival
is celebrated on September 7 with a procession along the
streets of Regia. The collection includes sacred objects,
attributes and religious pieces. A special place has been
reserved for the mysterious Tabla de lfa and its shells,
an ancient divining instrument.
Address:
Calle Marti No.158 e/ Facciolo y La Piedra,Regla.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 09:00 to 18:00.
Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays.
Museo Casa Natal
de José Martí
This museum occupies the small, modest house where Jose
Marti, a national Cuban hero, was born on January 28,
1853. In addition to his revolutionary pursuits, Marti
was also one of the most outstanding masters of Latin
American literature in the 19th century, a poet of sensitivity
and an incisive journalist.
When
he was forced to leave Cuba because of his revolutionary
ideas, Marti lived in several countries in Latin America,
Spain and the United States. He founded the Cuban Revolutionary
Party, the organization that planned and led the last
war for independence, which broke out on February 24,
1895 under his leadership. Marti was killed in action
on May 19, 1895.
The
museum, which opened on January 28, 1925, contains many
of Marti's personal belongings, manuscripts, documents,
articles, books and other items.
Address:
Calle Leonor Perez (Paula) No.314, La Habana Vieja, walking
distance from the Central Railroad Station.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 1 0:00 to
18:00. Sundays: 09:00 to 12:45. Closed Mondays
More
>>
The
Arab Museum
The
old colonial home that houses The Arab Museum, in the
very heart of Old Havana, is itself a great example of
the strong Moorish influence on Cuban architecture since
the 18th century.
The
red-brick arcade, the form of the ceilings and galleries,
and the ample inner patio decked with plants and flowers
epitomize the Mudejar construction style brought over
to Cuba by Spanish master builders. The halls boast marquetry
pieces with ivory and precious wood inlays; practical
and sumptuous robes worn by Saharan nomads; remarkable
camel saddles; exquisite rugs and tapestries, and an exact
replica of an Arab market place.
Also
on display is one of Nature's wonders: a desert rose,
a calcareous formation resembling a flower that occurs
on sandy soils when evaporation causes salts to concentrate.
Eighteenth and nineteenth century weapons, gold and silver
plated and with intricate ornaments, form one of the most
complete collections in the country.
Also
of note, The Arab House is the only place in Havana which
houses a Moslem prayer room (complete with the Koran and
other religious objects), open to local and foreign believers.
Address:
Calle Oficlos e/ Obispo
y Obrapia, Habana Vieja
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 14:30-18:30,
19:00-21:45. Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays
Casa
de Africa
Founded
in 1986, in a colonial palace in Old Havana, with its
mission to bring the rich history and culture of Africa,
to Cuba.
There
are valuable collections from 26 African countries, based
on the collection of the prestigious researcher Fernando
Ortiz and on the African Collection of Castro, himself.
The institution does research on the countries represented
in its collections, especially those (and there are many)
that had a direct influence on Cuba's culture. The Africa
House Museum is an important center of study, as well
as a place where researchers, ethnologists, linguists
and students of African and Afro-Cuban history can present
their findings.
Address:
Calle Obrapia No. 157 e/ Mercaderes Y San Ignacio, La
Habana Vieja.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 14:30 to 18:30.
Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays
Cuban
Postal Museum
This
interesting museum, specializing in philately (the collection
and study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials)
and the history of the postal service. The museum exhibits
old writing instruments and valuable documents of the
Cuban post, including the libro de cuentas (the ledger)
used by Cuba's first Director of the Mail in the year
1765. Stamp collectors will be thrilled to see what is
considered to be the world's first postage stamp, the
famous "one-penny black," first circulated on
May 6, 1840, in England.
Among
the interesting exhibits on display is the "postal
rocket," which gave rise to an issue of stamps for
"rocket mail." On October 15, 1936, a group
of enthusiastic stamp lovers launched a solid-propellant
rocket containing a parcel of correspondence. While the
experiment had no practical consequences, it did go down
in history as the first attempt to use rocket propulsion
to speed up mail delivery.
The
Postal Museum also has a rich collection of stamps of
the world and a specialized room devoted to Cuban stamps.
There is a shop where visitors may buy stamps, albums
and other accessories.
Address:
Ave. de Rancho Boyeros e/ 19 de Mayo y 20 de Mayo, Plaza
de la Revolucion, Habana.
Open: Monday to Friday: 1 0:00 to 17:00.
Closed Saturdays and Sundays
Ethnographic
Museum (House of Fredi)
The
building that houses the Ethnographic Museum was once
the home of the Santero Mayor of Madruga, a town near
the City of Havana. In this very house, the Babalawo (Priests
of the Santeria religion) initiated more than 400 persons
from all over the country Into the mysteries of the Regla
de Ocha, making them "God children" of the various
Santos (Yoruba deities). Every September 12, they would
gather on the porch and depart on some of the most impressive
processions the town has ever seen, carrying the statue
of Our Lady of Charity (equivalent of Ochun in the Yoruba
pantheon) and winding up in a spectacular festivity where
the drums and the dancing went on until sunrise.
At
the Ethnographic Museum, or House of Fredi, there is an
admirable communion between religious objects and works
of art which, in the opinion of experts, might very well
be one of the finest collections in the world.
The
entire symbolic system of the Afro-Cuban ritual is present
in the different religious objects in the collection.
No one can remain indifferent to the aesthetic qualfties
of the religious objects made by this Babalawo. There
are beautiful "power" necklaces, bracelets,
staffs of command, scepters, swords, double-headed axes,
ornate cauldrons, altars and images, all rich with symbolism,
vitality and imagination.
The
house still retains the impression of a place of respect,
despite the fact that its doors are open to visitors at
any time of the day. The "House of Fredi" is
still a sacred place for all.
Address:
Pueblo de Madruga, La Habana.
Open: Monday to Sunday: 09:00 to 17:00
The
Carlos J. Finlay Historical Museum of Sciences
The
building now occupied by the museum was once the venue
of the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural
Sciences of Havana as of 1868, and six years later it
becase Cuba's first museum, inaugurated on May 19, 1874
under the auspices of the Royal Academy.
The
Carlos J. Finlay Historical Museum of Sciences inherited
all the collections in these two previous institutions
as well as the building, declared a National Monument
because of the many historic events that took place under
its roof, among them Dr. Carlos J. Finlay's presentation
of his thesis announcing to the world the discovery of
the vector of yellow fever, as well as a public presentation
by Alben Einstein on the occasion of his visit to Cuba.
The
halls of the museum show the antecedents of Cuban science,
the history of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Havana
and the role played by members of the medical profession
in the wars for independence. There is also a 19th-century
pharmacy, a scientific laboratory of the same epoch and
a synthesis of international science.
Among
the museum's other assets are a picture collection and
a valuable library containing over 95 thousand volumes,
a historical archive that holds 19th-century manuscripts,
and many of Carlos J. Finlay's personal belongings.
Address:
Calle Cuba no. 460, Amargura y Brasil, Habana
Vieja
Open: Monday to Saturday: 08:00 to 11:30,
13:30 to 17:00. Closed Sundays
Haydee
Santamaria Latin-America Gallery
This
institution, belonging to the Casa de las Americas, has
assembled, through donations, a valuable collection of
Latin American art, made up of over 6,000 pieces of sculpture,
paintings, engravings, photographs and popular art. It
also comprises a silk-screen shop which reproduces
representative works of artists of Latin America and the
Caribbean, for dissemination to a broader public. Each
exhibit is kept for one year and alternates with the exhibits
of the Joven Estampa prize
and the Photo Essay prize. The Gallery also organizes
video and film screenings, concerts, recitals, theater,
dance and meetings with creative artists.
Address:
Calle G e/ 3ra. y 5ta., Vedado.
Open: Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 17:00.
Closed Saturdays and Sundays
Humor
Museum
The
Humor Museum, housed in a beautiful 19th centuiry colonial
home, is devoted to the conservation, study and dissemination
of graphic (printed, or literary) humor. The museum was
opened in 1979, when San Antonio hosted the first Humor
Biennial as a tribute to Marcos Behemaras, a great Cuban
humorist. Since then, the institution has been home to
these popular international humor festivals.
The
museum comprises a visual tour of Cuban graphic humor
from the first extant Cuban caricature (1848) to the present.
Additionally, the courtyard often hosts cultural, musical,
literary and cinema activities connected with humor.
Address:
Calle 60 esq. Ave. 45, San Antonio
de los Baños.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 14:00 to 19:00,
Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays
The
Wilfredo Lam Center
The
Wilfredo Lam Center is an institution devoted to the research
and dissemination of the visual arts from Asia, Africa,
the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its
work is essentially aimed at the countries of the so-called
Third World, and at the study and dissemination of the
paintings of Wifredo Lam, a hugely popular 20th century
Cuban master.
Another
important function of the center is to compile and classify
up-to-date information on the visual arts for artists,
critics, researchers and the public at large. It has a
substantial bibliographical and documentary collection
and maintains exchange relations with similar centers
in Cuba and throughout the world.
The
Lam Center also sponsors the Havana Biennial, an renowned
exhibit intended to foster the development of the visual
arts in Third World countries. The Biennial comprises
exhibits,
workshops, meetings, debates and a series of cultural
activities.
Address:
Calles Oficio y Acosta, La Habana Vieja.
Open: Monday to Friday: 08:30 to 16:30,
Alternate Saturdays: 08:30 to 16:30. Closed Sundays
Museum
of the Castle of the Royal Forces
This
museum is located in the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the
oldest colonial fortress in the Americas (1577) built,
according to the military engineering practice of the
times, with massive bulwarks, studded with cannon, bombards
and culverins (many of them still in place) and a moat
to protect it from the enemy.
The
fortress was the official residence of the Captains General
until 1791. Atop the "Tribute Tower," former
belfry and look-out point, we find a world-famous statue
that is the symbol of Havana, La Giraldilla, a graceful
female figure representing Doña Isabel de Bobadilla
the first
woman governor of Cuba (the figure was cast in bronze
and served as a wind vane for ships entering the harbor).
After
a long history as a fortress, Governor's residence, library
and archive, in 1977, on its 400th anniversary, it was
declared a National Monument and now houses a specialized
Cuban ceramics collection. Collections include works by
Amelia Pelaez, Wilfredo Lam, Rene Portocarrero, Rodriguez
de Cruz, and many of Cuba's greatest ceramics artists.
Address:
Calle Tacon e/ Obispo y O'Reilly, La Habana Vieja.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 11:30 to 17:30.
Sundays: 09:00 to 12:00. Closed Mondays.
Perfumery
Museum
An
old episcopal palace still preserving the atmosphere of
an 18th-century cloister holds the museum devoted to perfumes.
Perfumes
have always been a predilection with Cubans. From the
times grandmothers filled chests and wardrobes with aromatic
mint leaves and vetiver, and families gathered in the
inner courtyards under the fragrance of tropical trees,
perfume was a pleasurable respite in a climate where summer
is perennial. Hence, perfume has its museum, in a Sevillian
courtyard with a fountain, a well and a grapevine.
The
collections comprise a varied sample consisting of 19th-century
perfume bottles found in archaeological excavations, different
lines of perfume and toiletry from the early 20th century
up
to the present. There is a collection of French perfumes
featuring the world famous Molinard line. The collection
of Cuban perfumes includes the products of former rival
industries: Gravi, Sabates and Crusellas, with its most
famous line: Palmolive.
Address:
Calle Oficios e/ Obispo y Obrapia, Habana Vieja
Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 14:30 to 21:45.
Sundays: 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays |
