Page 174 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

172  CUBA REGION B Y REGION

7 Cienfuegos the Parque Central has five
arches corresponding to the
The capital of the province of the same name, Cienfuegos, number of entrances. The
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a maritime city with a well- Byzantine mosaic murals on
preserved historic centre and one of the most captivating the pediment, made by the
bays in the Caribbean Sea, which helped earn the city the Salviati workshops in Venice,
represent the muses.
name “Pearl of the South” in the colonial era. When Columbus To the left of the theatre
discovered the gulf in 1494, it was occupied by Jagua Indians. is the Neo-Classical Colegio
In order to defend the bay from pirates, the Spanish built a de San Lorenzo, built thanks
fortress here in 1745. The first town, called Fernandina de to a generous donation by
Jagua, was founded in 1819 but, in 1829, it was renamed after the academic Nicolás Jacinto
Acea to ensure that needy
the Cuban Governor General of the time, José Cienfuegos.
children in the town would
be educated.
occupied by the Antiguo R Catedral de la Purísima
Ayuntamiento, now the home Concepción
of the provincial government Ave. 56 No. 2902 y Calle 29. Tel (43)
assembly, supposedly 525 297. Open 7am–noon Mon–Fri,
modelled on the Capitolio 8am– noon Sat & Sun. 5 7:15am
in Havana (see pp86–7). Tue–Fri, 8pm Sat, 9am Sun.
The cathedral of Cienfuegos,
P Teatro Tomás Terry constructed in 1833– 69, is one
Ave. 56 No. 2703 y Calle 27. Tel (43) of the major buildings on the
513 361. Open daily. & 8 central square. Its distinguishing
This theatre was built in features are the Neo-Classical
1886–9 to fulfil the last will façade with two bell towers of
and testament of Tomás Terry different heights, and French
Adams, an unscrupulous sugar stained-glass windows
factory owner who had depicting the 12 Apostles.
become wealthy through the
slave trade and then became E Museo Provincial
mayor. World-famous figures Ave 54 No. 2702 esq. Calle 27.
such as Enrico Caruso and Tel (43) 519 722. Open 10am–6pm
The “zero kilometre” in the Parque Martí Sarah Bernhardt performed Tue–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun. Closed
here in the early 1900s. 1 Jan, 1 May, 26 Jul, 25 Dec. & 8
Parque Martí The theatre was designed by Note: fee for photography may apply.
The “zero kilometre”, the central Lino Sánchez Mármol as an The Provincial Museum is in the
point of Cienfuegos, is in the Italian-style theatre, with a former Casino Español, an
middle of Parque Martí, the splendid U-shaped, two-tiered eclectic-style building first
former Plaza de Armas (parade auditorium and a huge, opened in1896. The furn iture,
ground). The vast square, a spectacular fresco by Camilo bronze and marble objects, and
200 x 100 m (655 x 330 ft) Salaya, a Philippine-Spanish crystal and porcelain collections
rectangle, has been declared a painter who moved to Cuba bear witness to the refined taste
national monument because of in the late 1800s. The austere, and wealth of 19th-century
the surrounding buildings and well-proportioned façade on families in Cienfuegos.
its historic importance. It was
here that the foundation of
Cienfuegos was celebrated
with a solemn ceremony in the
shade of a hibiscus tree, chosen
as a marker for laying out the
city’s first 25 blocks.
Lions on a marble pedestal
flank a monument to José
Martí, erected in 1906.
On Calle Bouyón stands the
only triumphal arch in Cuba,
commissioned by the local
workers’ corporation in 1902 to
celebrate the inauguration of
the Republic of Cuba. One side
of the square is entirely The mosaic-decorated façade of the Teatro Tomás Terry
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp259–60 and pp273–4

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