Page 232 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

230  CUBA REGION B Y REGION

Exploring Parque Céspedes

One of the liveliest squares in Cuba, Parque Céspedes is not
only a place for socializing, but also has sites of cultural and
architectural importance. Allow half a day to visit three of the
most important monuments around the park: the house of
Diego Velázquez, the impressive cathedral and the residence
of the great 19th-century poet José María Heredia.

The building now houses the The courtyard in the 19th-century wing
Museo Ambiente Histórico of Diego Velázquez’s house
Cubano, covering the history
of furniture in Cuba. It contains are massive, lavish and intri­
superb examples from all cately worked, often
colonial periods. Among the finished at the base with
mostly austere Creole furniture, feet shaped like claws.
dating from the 16th and The 19th­century section
17th centuries, are a splendid includes a dining room with
priest’s high­backed chair and stained­glass windows and
a finely wrought coffer – two French furni ture, including
excellent examples of Moorish­ rocking chairs, a console
style objects. table and a Charles X mirror.
The basement has 18th­ Another important item is
century “Luis Las Casas” furni­ a tapestry with the coat­of­
ture, a style peculiar to Cuba arms of the Velázquez family,
which combines English the only piece in the museum
A room with colonial furniture in influences and French Rococo that is directly related to this
Diego Velázquez’s house motifs. These pieces of furniture Spanish conquistador.
P Casa de Diego Velázquez
(Museo Ambiente Histórico The 16th-Century Mudéjar-Style House
Cubano) Considered the oldest private building in Cuba and declared a
Calle Félix Pena 612, e/ Heredia y national monument because of its historic value, the 16th­century
Aguilera. Tel (22) 652 652. Open 1–5pm section of Velázquez’s house is a fine example of the Cuban version
Fri, 9am–5pm Sat–Thu. & 8 Note: of the mudéjar (Moorish) style – although much of what is there is
fee for photography may apply. the result of restoration.
This building, constructed in
1516–30 as a residence for the
governor Diego Velázquez, is
the oldest home in Cuba,
according to architect Francisco
Prat Puig, who restored the
house in 1965. (Other scholars
have disputed this assertion,
however, and not everyone
has praised the restoration.) The courtyard, in mudéjar style, Wooden screens protect the
Whatever the truth, this is narrow and long and runs gallery and balconies from
splendid residence is still a around a central well. the sun and public gaze.
fascinating place to visit.
In the 1600s it was the
so­called House of Transactions
(the ground floor still has an
old furnace in which gold ingots
were made). In the 19th century
it was joined to the building
next door. The upstairs gallery
facing the courtyard is closed
off by a Moorish wooden blind,
to screen residents from the Frescoes, known as cenefas, Cedar ceilings with geometric
eyes of strangers. Also upstairs, decorate the lower part of the patterns, called alfarjes, were
some of the original alfarje walls, but they are not original. common in the 16th century.
ceilings survive.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp262–3 and p275

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