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Museum
of Fine Arts The museum has three collections Cuban art from the 17th century to the present, with works by Miguel Melero, Estaban Chartrand, Armando Menocal, Victor Manuel, Portocarrero, Wifredo Lam, Servando Cabrerra, Amelia Pelaez and others. European Painting: originals by Rubens, Murillo, Zurbaran, Velazquez, Goya, Hans Memling and others. The Museum also houses Cuba's finest collection of ancient art: Egyptian, Greek and Floman pieces in Latin America, including funerary portraits from Al Fayyum of the 2nd to the 4th centuries. Address:
Calle Trocadero entre Agramonte (Zulueta) y Ave. de las Misiones
(Monserrate), La Habana Vieja. |
The
Museum of the City was installed in the Palace of the Captains
General, the stately baroque residence of the colonial Governors
of Cuba for more than 100 years and the most impressive building
on the Plaza de Armas (the former Parade Grounds). This palace,
built in 1791, was the The "Hall of Flags" contains the original Cuban flag and the one flown by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes when he began the first war for independence in 1868, as well as a number of flags used by the Spanish colonial government in Cuba. The art collection contains objects, paintings, porcelains, silver, bronzes and furniture of great historical value and beauty. Address:
Calle Tacon e/ Obispo y O'Reilly, Habana Vieja. |
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Colonial Art Museum The museum's rooms and halls exhibit a representative collection of the decorations and furnishings of the great colonial mansions of Havana in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as architectural elements such as the stained-glass arches (a sort of multicolored fan crowning doors an windows) which are one of the most beautiful expressions of Cuban colonial architecture. Address:
San Ignacio No.61, Plaza de la Catedral, La Habana Vieja |
Numismatic
Museum Among the more interesting pieces in the collection are 20 very valuable gold coins. Also on exhibit are medals, decorations, tokens that were issued at sugar mills .for the "company store," paper money, bonds, lottery tickets, numismatic documents and counterfeits detected in the country. Some of the other collections include bills and coins from other parts of the world, some very old, valuable private collections and rare coins. Address:
Calle Oficlos No.8 e/ Obispo y Obrapia, Habana Vieja |
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(Museo de la Educación) |
(Museum of the Fighting People)
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The
Museum of Natural History is the most important and largest
institution of its kind in the country, with rooms devoted to
the flora and fauna of Cuba and other parts of the world; rich
collections of shells, insects and minerals; a general anthropology
room and a valuable Cuban Indian archaeology room depicting
the daily life of our Indians. This room contains a life-size
reproduction of the cave at Punta del Este, Isle of Youth, declared
a National Monument for its The Museum is home to considerable educational and scientific extension work with the general population, as well as with the country's cultural and scientific institutions. Address:
Paseo de Marti (Paseo del Prado) entre Dragones y San Martin
(San Jose), La Habana Vleja. |
Museum
of the Revolution and Granma Memorial Its halls contain a detailed panorama of the country's struggles for national sovereignty in a historical discourse supported by abundant testimonial material made up of photographs, original documents, mock- ups, weapons, personal belongings of revolutionary fighters, recordings, videos and films. Adjacent to the Museum is the "Granma Memorial," the immense glass case holding the yacht used by Fidel Castro and over 80 revolutionary fighters to return to Cuba from theirexile in Mexico. The landing took place on December 2, 1957, at a point on the southern coast of Oriente Province, and that was the.beginning of the Liberation War in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. Address: Refugio No 1 e/ Monserrate y Zulueta, La Habana Vieja. Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 13:00 to 18:00. Sundays: 10:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays. |
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Museum
of Decorative Arts The most varied samples of the applied arts are shown in the permanent and temporary exhibits: the fine cabinet work and joinery of French and English furniture in the styles prevalent in the 18th century; original collections of Meissen, Sevres, Wedgewood and Faillance china; collections of Oriental porcelains; and Bacarat, Venetian and Catalonian crystal. A rug woven by hand in 1772 by Franchis Carolus Romanus is one of the museum's most treasured pieces. There is also and important collection of Chinese screens, including an outstanding 17th-century Coromandel. Address:
Calle 17 No.502 e/ D y E, Vedado |
Napoleonic
Museum The exhibit rooms are organized following a chronology of the political and military events relating to the life of "The Great Corsican," beginning with the end of the Bourbon monarchy and spanning Napoleon's ascent to power, the splendor of the Empire, abdication and withdrawal to Elba, the return, Waterloo and exile in Saint Helena. History
flows through the objects on exhibit, the furnishings and decor,
all in keeping with the changing fashions of the bourgeoisie
in economically buoyant France. The monumental painting of The pistols Bonaparte carried at the battle of Borodino, the hat and spy glass he used in Saint Helena, and a unique piece, his death mask, brought to Cuba by Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, the doctor who attended him to the end, are also part of the museum's priceless collection. Address:
Calle San Miguel No.1 159 esq. Ronda, Vedado, alongside the
University of Havana. |
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The
museum's collection was compiled during the 19th century by
the eminent Cuban scientist Felipe Poey and now occupies the
ground floor of the Felipe Poey building on the campus of Havana
University. It contains unique pieces, such as fish preserved
personally by Poey in the first half of the 19th century, the
smallest bird in the world, a stuffed specimen of an extinct
species of pigeon, and 1 B endemic Cuban birds that are part
of the country's largest collection. There are also This museum is of great historical and scientific importance because it was the fist of its kind in Cuba and because most of its specimens were collected personally by outstanding scientists like Don Carlos de la Torre, Grundlach, and Felipe Poey. Address:
Edificio "Felipe Poey", Planta Baja, Plaza Ignacio
Agramonte, Universidad de la Habana, Vedado. |
No one knows exactly when Guanabacoa was founded, but it is one of the oldest European settlements in Cuba. It simply grew around a thriving pre-Columbian Indian settlement and eventually became absorbed into the urban conglomerate of Havana. The archaeological pieces from the period are among the most important in the collection and the Guanabacoa Museum itself is considered a jewel among Cuba's museums. There are also important documents, weapons and objects that attest to the fierce resistance put up by its people to the occupation of Havana by the English in 1762 and their participation in the independence struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries. Foreign visitors are particularly attracted by its ethnographic collection of objects of Afro-Cuban religions, which are very important among the people of Guanabacoa. A number of rooms are devoted to the sacred objects of the three main syncretic religions: Regla de Ocha, better known as Santeria; Regla de Palo or Palo-Monte; and the Abakua Secret Society, religions with extraordinary mythologies, musical expressions, dances and crafts. The Munanso room, where the Babalawo or priest performs his divination rituals surrounded by altars with African deities represented by Catholic saints, is of special interest, as are the richly ornate "offering pots" and the representations of Eleggua, staring from the corners with their nacre eyes. Address:
Calle Marti No. 1 08 e/ Versalles y San Antonio, Guanabacoa. |
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(Weapons Museum) |
(National Air Museum) |
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National
Music Museum The
collections on exhibit offer a broad panorama of the development
of music and musical instruments in Cuba from the16th century
to the present. It also has a unique collection of original In addition to the exhibits, visitors can also listen to music in the extensive record library, and consult specialized books and magazines. Address:
Calle Carcel No. 1 entre Agular y Habana |
La Vigia, Hemingway's country house in San Francisco de Paula, on the outskirts of Havana, has been preserved exactly as the great American writer left it when he went on his last trip. Every single object, souvenir, hunting trophy, book and piece of furniture has been zealously preserved as an important part of the cultural heritage of Cuba and the world. Collections include personal belongings, books, documents and photographs. Address:
Finca La Vigia, San Francisco de Paula. |
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The Montane Museum is devoted to Cuban archaeology. The museums focuses on exhibits that attest to the material culture of the Indian communities that inhabited pre-Hispanic Cuba, particularly the Siboney and Arawak (Taino and sub-Taino) horizons. There are a number of Indian utensils, such as the guano and the guayo, that passed into the popular tradition of Cuba, as well as work instruments and Arawak vases, delicate expressions of these agricultural cultures and examples of the spiritual wealth of the earliest cultural roots of Cuba. Address:
Plaza Ignacio Agramonte, Universidad de la Habana |
The territory now occupied by Regla and Casablanca, on the far side of Havana Harbor, was the site of an Indian settlement in the 16th century. A hundred years later, a pious landowner donated land near the sea for the shrine of Our Lady of Regla, the nucleus of the future town. The Municipal Museum contains the history of the founding and development of Regla, one of the towns in Cuba that has done most for the preservation of its traditions. People from Regla participated in all the country's independence struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries, illustrious and noble fighters for freedom whose documents, weapons, pictures and personal belongings have been preserved for posterity. The rooms devoted to religious syncretism center on the worship of Yemaya, patron goddess of Havana Harbor, whose festival is celebrated on September 7 with a procession along the streets of Regia. The collection includes sacred objects, attributes and religious pieces. A special place has been reserved for the mysterious Tabla de lfa and its shells, an ancient divining instrument. Address:
Calle Marti No.158 e/ Facciolo y La Piedra,Regla. |
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This museum occupies the small, modest house where Jose Marti, a national Cuban hero, was born on January 28, 1853. In addition to his revolutionary pursuits, Marti was also one of the most outstanding masters of Latin American literature in the 19th century, a poet of sensitivity and an incisive journalist. When he was forced to leave Cuba because of his revolutionary ideas, Marti lived in several countries in Latin America, Spain and the United States. He founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party, the organization that planned and led the last war for independence, which broke out on February 24, 1895 under his leadership. Marti was killed in action on May 19, 1895. The museum, which opened on January 28, 1925, contains many of Marti's personal belongings, manuscripts, documents, articles, books and other items. Address:
Calle Leonor Perez (Paula) No.314, La Habana Vieja, walking
distance from the Central Railroad Station. |
The old colonial home that houses The Arab Museum, in the very heart of Old Havana, is itself a great example of the strong Moorish influence on Cuban architecture since the 18th century. The red-brick arcade, the form of the ceilings and galleries, and the ample inner patio decked with plants and flowers epitomize the Mudejar construction style brought over to Cuba by Spanish master builders. The halls boast marquetry pieces with ivory and precious wood inlays; practical and sumptuous robes worn by Saharan nomads; remarkable camel saddles; exquisite rugs and tapestries, and an exact replica of an Arab market place. Also on display is one of Nature's wonders: a desert rose, a calcareous formation resembling a flower that occurs on sandy soils when evaporation causes salts to concentrate. Eighteenth and nineteenth century weapons, gold and silver plated and with intricate ornaments, form one of the most complete collections in the country. Also of note, The Arab House is the only place in Havana which houses a Moslem prayer room (complete with the Koran and other religious objects), open to local and foreign believers. Address:
Calle Oficlos e/ Obispo y Obrapia, Habana Vieja |
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Founded in 1986, in a colonial palace in Old Havana, with its mission to bring the rich history and culture of Africa, to Cuba. There are valuable collections from 26 African countries, based on the collection of the prestigious researcher Fernando Ortiz and on the African Collection of Castro, himself. The institution does research on the countries represented in its collections, especially those (and there are many) that had a direct influence on Cuba's culture. The Africa House Museum is an important center of study, as well as a place where researchers, ethnologists, linguists and students of African and Afro-Cuban history can present their findings. Address:
Calle Obrapia No. 157 e/ Mercaderes Y San Ignacio, La Habana
Vieja. |
This interesting museum, specializing in philately (the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials) and the history of the postal service. The museum exhibits old writing instruments and valuable documents of the Cuban post, including the libro de cuentas (the ledger) used by Cuba's first Director of the Mail in the year 1765. Stamp collectors will be thrilled to see what is considered to be the world's first postage stamp, the famous "one-penny black," first circulated on May 6, 1840, in England. Among the interesting exhibits on display is the "postal rocket," which gave rise to an issue of stamps for "rocket mail." On October 15, 1936, a group of enthusiastic stamp lovers launched a solid-propellant rocket containing a parcel of correspondence. While the experiment had no practical consequences, it did go down in history as the first attempt to use rocket propulsion to speed up mail delivery. The Postal Museum also has a rich collection of stamps of the world and a specialized room devoted to Cuban stamps. There is a shop where visitors may buy stamps, albums and other accessories. Address:
Ave. de Rancho Boyeros e/ 19 de Mayo y 20 de Mayo, Plaza de
la Revolucion, Habana. |
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The building that houses the Ethnographic Museum was once the home of the Santero Mayor of Madruga, a town near the City of Havana. In this very house, the Babalawo (Priests of the Santeria religion) initiated more than 400 persons from all over the country Into the mysteries of the Regla de Ocha, making them "God children" of the various Santos (Yoruba deities). Every September 12, they would gather on the porch and depart on some of the most impressive processions the town has ever seen, carrying the statue of Our Lady of Charity (equivalent of Ochun in the Yoruba pantheon) and winding up in a spectacular festivity where the drums and the dancing went on until sunrise. At the Ethnographic Museum, or House of Fredi, there is an admirable communion between religious objects and works of art which, in the opinion of experts, might very well be one of the finest collections in the world. The entire symbolic system of the Afro-Cuban ritual is present in the different religious objects in the collection. No one can remain indifferent to the aesthetic qualfties of the religious objects made by this Babalawo. There are beautiful "power" necklaces, bracelets, staffs of command, scepters, swords, double-headed axes, ornate cauldrons, altars and images, all rich with symbolism, vitality and imagination. The house still retains the impression of a place of respect, despite the fact that its doors are open to visitors at any time of the day. The "House of Fredi" is still a sacred place for all. Address:
Pueblo de Madruga, La Habana. |
The building now occupied by the museum was once the venue of the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana as of 1868, and six years later it becase Cuba's first museum, inaugurated on May 19, 1874 under the auspices of the Royal Academy. The Carlos J. Finlay Historical Museum of Sciences inherited all the collections in these two previous institutions as well as the building, declared a National Monument because of the many historic events that took place under its roof, among them Dr. Carlos J. Finlay's presentation of his thesis announcing to the world the discovery of the vector of yellow fever, as well as a public presentation by Alben Einstein on the occasion of his visit to Cuba. The halls of the museum show the antecedents of Cuban science, the history of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Havana and the role played by members of the medical profession in the wars for independence. There is also a 19th-century pharmacy, a scientific laboratory of the same epoch and a synthesis of international science. Among the museum's other assets are a picture collection and a valuable library containing over 95 thousand volumes, a historical archive that holds 19th-century manuscripts, and many of Carlos J. Finlay's personal belongings. Address:
Calle Cuba no. 460, Amargura y Brasil, Habana Vieja |
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This
institution, belonging to the Casa de las Americas, has assembled,
through donations, a valuable collection of Latin American art,
made up of over 6,000 pieces of sculpture, paintings, engravings,
photographs and popular art. It also comprises a silk-screen
shop which reproduces Address:
Calle G e/ 3ra. y 5ta., Vedado. |
The Humor Museum, housed in a beautiful 19th centuiry colonial home, is devoted to the conservation, study and dissemination of graphic (printed, or literary) humor. The museum was opened in 1979, when San Antonio hosted the first Humor Biennial as a tribute to Marcos Behemaras, a great Cuban humorist. Since then, the institution has been home to these popular international humor festivals. The museum comprises a visual tour of Cuban graphic humor from the first extant Cuban caricature (1848) to the present. Additionally, the courtyard often hosts cultural, musical, literary and cinema activities connected with humor. Address:
Calle 60 esq. Ave. 45, San Antonio de los
Baños. |
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The Wilfredo Lam Center is an institution devoted to the research and dissemination of the visual arts from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its work is essentially aimed at the countries of the so-called Third World, and at the study and dissemination of the paintings of Wifredo Lam, a hugely popular 20th century Cuban master. Another important function of the center is to compile and classify up-to-date information on the visual arts for artists, critics, researchers and the public at large. It has a substantial bibliographical and documentary collection and maintains exchange relations with similar centers in Cuba and throughout the world. The Lam
Center also sponsors the Havana Biennial, an renowned exhibit
intended to foster the development of the visual arts in Third
World countries. The Biennial comprises exhibits, Address:
Calles Oficio y Acosta, La Habana Vieja. |
This museum is located in the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest colonial fortress in the Americas (1577) built, according to the military engineering practice of the times, with massive bulwarks, studded with cannon, bombards and culverins (many of them still in place) and a moat to protect it from the enemy. The fortress
was the official residence of the Captains General until 1791.
Atop the "Tribute Tower," former belfry and look-out
point, we find a world-famous statue that is the symbol of Havana,
La Giraldilla, a graceful female figure representing Doña
Isabel de Bobadilla the first After a long history as a fortress, Governor's residence, library and archive, in 1977, on its 400th anniversary, it was declared a National Monument and now houses a specialized Cuban ceramics collection. Collections include works by Amelia Pelaez, Wilfredo Lam, Rene Portocarrero, Rodriguez de Cruz, and many of Cuba's greatest ceramics artists. Address:
Calle Tacon e/ Obispo y O'Reilly, La Habana Vieja. |
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An old episcopal palace still preserving the atmosphere of an 18th-century cloister holds the museum devoted to perfumes. Perfumes have always been a predilection with Cubans. From the times grandmothers filled chests and wardrobes with aromatic mint leaves and vetiver, and families gathered in the inner courtyards under the fragrance of tropical trees, perfume was a pleasurable respite in a climate where summer is perennial. Hence, perfume has its museum, in a Sevillian courtyard with a fountain, a well and a grapevine. The collections
comprise a varied sample consisting of 19th-century perfume
bottles found in archaeological excavations, different lines
of perfume and toiletry from the early 20th century up Address:
Calle Oficios e/ Obispo y Obrapia, Habana Vieja |
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