Page 107 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

VED ADO AND PLAZA  105

The austere façade of the University of Havana, with the statue of the Alma Mater at the top of the staircase
her arms outstretched in a 5 Museo 6 Quinta de los
gesture of welcome, was cast Napoleónico Molinos
in 1919 in New York by the
Czech sculptor Mario Korbel. Calle San Miguel 1159, esq. a Ronda. Avenida Carlos III (Salvador Allende) e/
It was installed at the top of Map 2 F3. Tel 7879 1412, 7879 1460. Infanta y Calle G. Map 2 F3. Tel 7873
the broad granite stairway Open 9:30am–5pm Tue–Sat, 9:30am– 6510. Open 10am–noon Tue, Thu &
that forms the entrance to the noon Sun. & 8 Sat. & 8 in Spanish only.
complex in 1927. The grand
entrance to the university The surprising presence of a A typical 19th-century villa in
overlooks Calle San Lázaro, Napoleonic museum in Cuba the Vedado quarter, the Quinta
which broadens out into an is due to the passion of a sugar de los Molinos offers a verdant
open space where the ashes magnate, Julio Lobo. For years retreat amid the bustle of the
of Julio Antonio Mella are he sent his agents all over city. It was built as the summer
kept (see p50). the world in search of residence of the captains-general
In the Science Faculty, Napoleonic mementos. in 1837. The villa stands in a leafy
the Felipe Poey Museum In 1959, when Lobo area with two tobacco mills
of Natural History is left Cuba, the Cuban (molinos). Built by the royal
open to visitors. Of government bought decree, the mills were operated
much greater interest, his collection. from early to mid 19th-century,
however, is the Museo Every room in this and were powered by the waters
Antropológico Montané, curious museum contains of the city’s aqueduct system.
in the Mathematics fine examples of imperial- Following an ambitious
Department. Founded style furniture as well restoration project, the rambling
in 1903, this museum as all sorts of surprising grounds around the villa are
has exceptional Pre- Napoleonic memorabilia, now home to the lush botanical
Columbian archaeological including one of the gardens, which are crisscrossed
finds from Cuba, such as emperor’s teeth and a tuft with pathways. The gardens
the Idolo de Tabaco found of his hair. There are two contain a wealth of plant life,
on the eastern tip of the portraits, one by including many indigenous
island, the Idolo de Idolo de Tabaco, Andrea Appioni, Cuban species. A colourful
Bayamo, one of the Museo Montané painted in Milan butterfly house is also located
largest stone sculptures during Napoleon’s at the rear end of this oasis.
in the entire Caribbean second Italian
area, and the Dujo de Santa Fe, campaign, and another by
a wooden ceremonial seat. Antoine Gros. There is also
The oldest building on the his death mask, cast two days
hill is the Great Hall, with an before Napoleon’s death by
austere façade behind which Francesco Antommarchi, the
are allegorical paintings by Italian physician who had
Armando Menocal. The hall accompanied him to the
itself contains the old island of St Helena and who
University of San Gerónimo later settled in Cuba.
bell, used to convene the The restored mansion itself
professors, and the remains of was built in the 1920s by
Félix Varela (see p32), brought Oreste Ferrara, counsellor to
to Cuba in 1911 from Florida, the dictator Gerardo Machado,
where the Cuban intellectual who furnished it in a Neo- A stained-glass window in the Quinta de
had died. Florentine Gothic style. los Molinos

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