Page 95 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

CENTRO HABANA AND PR ADO  93

The Dome
The inside of the dome, VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
visible from the staircase,
consists of multicoloured Practical Information
ceramics. It includes four Calle Refugio 1, e/ Avenida de las
panels, decorated by Esteban Misiones y Zulueta. Map 4 D2.
Valderrama and Mariano Tel 7862 4091. Open 9am–8pm
Miguel González, against a daily (last entry 4:15pm). & =
gold leaf background.

. Salón de los Espejos
Lined with vast mirrors (espejos),
the reception hall of the former
presidential palace has ceiling
frescoes by Cuban painters
Armado Menocal and Antonio
Rodríguez Morey.

KEY
1 The side wing of the palace was
home to Batista’s office.
2 The third floor contains photos
and memorabilia from colonial times
to 1959.
3 The second floor displays the
President’s desk, the Council of
Ministers and memorabilia from
1959 to the present day.
4 The tall windows are similar
to those in the Gran Teatro de La
Habana, and were designed by
Entrance
the same architect, Paul Belau.
5 The terrace opposite the Salón
de los Espejos has a fine view of the
Bay of Havana.

. Main Staircase
The monumental staircase, which leads to the
first floor, still bears marks of the bullets shot
here on 13 March 1957, during an attack by
some revolutionary university students on a
mission to kill Batista. The dictator managed
to save his life by escaping to the upper floors.

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