4 Luz St. on the corner of San Pedro St., Old Havana ,
Havana, Cuba
(+53) 78628000
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About
Armadores de Santander
The Hotel Armadores de Santander (which means ‘Shipowners of Santander’) overlooks the port of Havana. The building’s facade, with its stone reliefs of the coat of arms of Santander surrounded by maritime motifs, is wonderfully evocative of the city’s seagoing past.
Havana’s entire raison to be, was the excellence of its natural harbour and its strategic position within the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Nowhere is this easier to appreciate than from a balcony of the Armadores de Santander. The building was commissioned by Don José Cabrero Mier, a native of that city. Many important Havana shipowners maintained offices there, notably Don Ramón Herrera y Sancibrián, Count of Mortera, who after beginning his career as a weaver in the Spanish town of Mortera was driven by poverty to emigrate and try his luck in Cuba. Here he became a hugely successful banker and shipowner. During the Cuban Wars of Independence Don Ramón dedicated a part of his fleet to the service of the Spanish crown, for which he was rewarded with his title.
The Hotel Armadores de Santander was restored and is run by the Office of the City Historian of Havana, so all its profits are reinvested in the restoration of the city’s historical centre. Anyone keen on maritime history and the comings and goings of ships will love it. From early morning until late at night boats pass to and fro in front of the hotel and the views of the twinkling harbour lights in the evening, and the rising sun gleaming on the smooth water before the morning breeze gets up, are impossibly romantic.
Oficios No.13, La Habana
Automobile Museum
The Museo del Automóvil (Automobile Museum) is located in an 1892 Neoclassical construction in Old Havana. This museum is divided in two exposition rooms, which share the entire collection composed by 30 promenade cars, two rigid trucks, a funeral carriage, a special vehicle, seven motorcycles, a semaphore, three fuel pumps and two didactic imitations. This museum has a very well preserved and interesting collection of old automobiles, among which are the noteworthy Thunderbird, Pontiac, and Ford T, among others. The oldest vehicle in the collection dates from 1905, and the latest one comes from 1989. Most of them are North American, although some cars were made in Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain. It houses automobiles related to specific people and others antiquated vehicles. An example of this is the Cadillac used by Ernesto Che Guevara when living in Havana, the 1930 Fiat from Flor Loynaz, or the 1959 Oldsmobile used by Commander Camilo Cienfuegos.
Calle Leonor Pérez No. 314, La Habana
Museo Casa Natal de José Martí
The Museo Casa Natal de José Martí (Birthplace Museum) is the house in which José Martí was born, a 19th century politician, intellectual and national hero of the Republic of Cuba. This humble two-floor house was converted into a museum in 1925 and declared a National Monument in 1949. It exhibits personal objects of José Martí, whose spirit is felt in every corner of the restored house. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century, rather close to the city walls, and has typical features of many houses in the area: a tiled roof and mortar walls. The house was restored and its collection enriched in a community process in 1959. It is interesting to know that this museum contains the only known Oil Portrait of José Martí.
Oficios, e/ Amargura y Churruca, Habana Vieja
San Francisco de Asís Square
This square dates back to the first half of the 17th century. Its location, just a few metres from the bay, led to it becoming an important trading square over the years. It is said that around the year 1600 the first fountain of the city could be seen at this square. In 1836 it was replaced by a beautiful fountain made of white Carrara marble by Giuseppe Gaggini, under the good auspices of the Villanueva Count. This fountain is called Fuente de los Leones (Lions Fountain). On its paved area stand two noteworthy buildings: the Monastery and Basilica of San Francisco de Asís, which today houses the Museum of Religious Art and a concert hall. It is also where the Lonja del Comercio (Chamber of Commerce) is located, inspired by Spanish Renaissance architecture and topped by a dome on which a sculpture of the god Mercury stands. Among the houses built around the plaza, the house of the Arostegui family, residence of the Captain Generals until the completion of the City Hall at the end of the 18th century, was erected.
Ave Carlos Manuel Céspedes y Santa Clara, Habana Vieja, La Habana
Nuestra Señora de Kazán Orthodox Cathedral
The Catedral Ortodoxa de Nuestra Señora de Kazán (Nuestra Señora de Kazán Orthodox Cathedral), declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is one of the newest constructions in Havana, being built in 2000. This Russian Orthodox church is Byzantine in style. It has six beautiful domes, two of which (the biggest and smallest) are gold-sheeted, and the rest are made of bronze. Its staircase entrance calls our attention and is considered the second largest staircase of all outside Russia. From the interior, its golden altar stands out, built in Trinidad and the San Sergio Monastery, Russia; and the murals adorning its walls.
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