Page 88 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

86  HA V ANA AREA B Y AREA

1 Hotel Inglaterra hotel merged with the lively 2 Gran Teatro de
Le Louvre night spot and its La Habana
Paseo de Martí (Prado) 416, esq. a San
Rafael. Map 4 D2. Tel 7860 8594. adjacent ballroom. The pave- Paseo de Martí (Prado) y San Rafael.
∑ hotelinglaterra-cuba.com ment outside the hotel, known Map 4 D2. Tel 7861 7391. & 8
as the “Louvre sidewalk”, was an
Although this hotel is built in animated meeting point for 9am–5pm Tue–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun.
Note: fee for photography may apply.
the style of late 19th-century Havana liberals. It was here
Havana Neo-Classical that the young José Martí One of the world’s largest opera
architecture, its soul is mudéjar (see p49) advocated total houses, Gran Teatro de La Habana
(Moorish): the fine ochre, green separation from Spain, as is part of the monumental
and gold majolica tiles of the opposed to more moderate Palacio del Centro Gallego
interior were imported from liberal demands for autonomy. (1915), designed by Belgian
Seville, the foyer is decorated General Antonio Maceo, architect Paul Belau to host the
with Andalusian mosaics, a hero of the wars of Cuban social activities of Havana’s large
and the wooden ceilings are independence, prepared plans and affluent Spanish community.
reminiscent of Moorish inlay. for insurrection in this hotel. The magnificent façade is
Plus, one of the columns in the Among many illustrious decorated with four sculpture
salón-café bears a classical guests were the great French groups by the Italian sculptor
Arabic inscription: “Only Allah is actress Sarah Bernhardt and Giuseppe Moretti, depicting
the victor”. The Hotel Inglaterra the Russian ballet dancer Charity, Education, Music and
dates from 1875, when a small Anna Pavlova. Theatre. The building lies over
3 Capitolio
A symbol of the city, the Capitol (Capitolio) combines
the elegance of Neo-Classicism with Art Deco elements.
Inaugurated in 1929 by the dictator Gerardo Machado,
it is a loose imitation of the Washington DC Capitol,
but is even taller. It stands in an area once occupied
by a botanical garden and later by the capital’s first
railway station. The home of government until 1959,
the Capitol has seen major historic events: in 1933 the
police fired on a crowd gathered here during an anti- The staircase of honour, originally
Machado demonstration. The building is currently reserved for MPs
being restored in preparation for a return to its role
as the seat of the Cuban government.

National Library of Science
and Technology

Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber still has its original
furnishings and is decorated
with bas-reliefs by the Italian
artist Gianni Remuzzi.

For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp256–7 and p271

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