diego velázquez museum

Like a in number of places in Cuba you have to get past a rather plain entrance to see the gems this museum has. I starts with furniture imported from Spain. The next area features furniture made in Spain but with Cuban wood. And finally features pieces made by Cuban craftsmen with Cuban wood. A real treat if you can get the Museum Director to show you around and learn the history of the building too.

We did the tour of the house and we should have gotten a curator/docent but there were none available that could speak English when we were there. The tour cost 2 CUC/person with an additional 5CUC for a camera. I usually don't bother with the camera and if I see that it is worth it I will go back and pay for the camera. I didn't think it was worth the 5CUC. There were a lot of artifacts that at one time would have been beautiful and interesting but after many many years of having black diesel soot drifting in the windows and settling on them, are now blackened relics. There was a beautiful globe that would have been interesting to look at but all you could see was the soot on the surface. Kind of sad actually. Is it worth the 2CUC pp ? Yes I would say it is, I would definitely get a docent/guide if one were available in my language. Is it worth an additional 5 for the camera? not so sure.

This old home is the Historical Colonial Environment's Museum, and the oldest construction in Cuba, Try to get a tour with the Curator so you can hear the rich history and learn about the Spanish conqueror and first ever Governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez. The house was built between 1516 and 1530 and has survived despite numerous fires and hurricanes. The house offers an architectural and ornamental look into design back in the 14th century, especially via its windows and numerous balconies, cedar roofs. You can see the moorish influence. The Diego Velazquez museum gives the visitor a rare peek into colonial life. The original furniture from France, UK, Spain and of course, Cuba demonstrates not only the excellent taste of the owner but also just how many merchant ships with goods and wares must have visited Santiago de Cuba around that time. T

he has a unique history and i thought it was closed so we only walked around it and peeked inside until a local let us in! shhh! he knew the owner and said it's a work of art but a wee bit rustic - i say classic :)

During my second visit in 2009 I visited this remarkable architectonic building and historical museum, conceptuated as the “oldest house in Cuba” (and maybe in America), that still stand. The structure is very well preserved with all the architecturals codes of the XVI century. If there is no mistake in the records, the house was constructed between 1516 and 1530; it was reform two hundreds years later to make it wide, and refurbished in 1965. It has two floors with many items: furnitures, arms, artworks, etc. In the central courtyard there is a machine because the spot served as a mint for coining money with the gold and silver found in Cuba or brought from other American Spanish colonies. The visitor can appreciate also an ancient kitchen and other details revealer of the daily life on those years. The house was the residence of the first Spanish governor in Cuba, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar. But the famous Hernan Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, also lived there for a time.

Many old items and paintings, including a few charred ones that caught fire when a candle set the place alight (I don't recall when that happened), but I loved seeing the old oven there that was used for melting down the booty that the Spanish had collected from Mexico and made into gold ingots before transferring them to ships headed for Spain, or into pirates' pockets. I was fascinated by this historical recollection even though it was of bad old days.

We were very lucky to have a private visit to this museum by the Curator. He made it come to life for us. It is the oldest building in Santiago de Cuba and it houses antiques from each period of history in beautiful rooms. It has to be one of the most fascinating museums I have ever visited. Don't miss it!

In depth tour with a very knowledgeable guide who took us through the formation of the house and history of this city and area.

it is better too visit a place like this in Spain than in Cuba.I dont understan that all touroperators go to this place,with remembers the nasty colonial history of Cuba.

If old stuff thrills you, this will give you goosebumps. The house is 500 years old, and some say it's the oldest home in Latin America. Metre-thick walls, carved ceilings, and a sense of solidity and dignity that give you an idea of the wealth and power of the Spanish empire in that era. (We were interested to learn that a "new" extension was built about 200 years later. When Hurricane Sandy arrived a couple of years ago, it blew down a lot of buildings in Santiago, including the new wing: but the original 16th-century building survived unscathed!)

There is not a lot I can say about this museum except that those of us interested in the history of Cuba enjoyed it.

I think this is the oldest building in Santiago, dating back to C16 and certainly a good tour with enthusiastic guide with good english. What I did object to was the charge of 5 CUC (not just here but for each museum you go to) to take photos, My advice is save 5 CUC and look on google images!

Just a few days ago, I enjoyed a brief tour with an English-language guide through the Diego Velazquez museum in Santiago. The residence, originally built beginning around 1515, has been largely reconstructed. Nevertheless, the museum contain furniture and artifacts from each generation of the house's existence. The tourist entrance fee is $2.00 CUC.

This was one of the most impressive historic buildings we visited in Cuba and is well worth visiting if in Central Santiago. It is conviently located on Parque Cespedes (allowing for good hassle-free photos of the Square from its windows) and its interior has been very well maintained. We enjoyed the private "tour" offered by the sweet elderly lady upstairs but after half-an-hour were ready to move on.

You don’t have to be an antique aficionado to enjoy this beautiful colonial building which is almost 500 years old. The former residence of Cuba’s first governor includes many beautiful hand-carved period furnishings as well as porcelain and glass from Spain, Germany, France and even China but the wooden ceilings and delicate wooden shutters are just as impressive. Believe it or not, the smithed latches and hinges on the centre full-swing shutters work perfectly even today. In its heyday, the governor lived on the upper floor whereas the trading house and gold foundry was located on the lower level. The original melting oven for the gold foundry can still be seen today. One can also see some of the original frescoes on the upper level and the restoration work that has been done. Fortunately we had an English guide to translate for us – otherwise it might have been a little difficult to appreciate the history of all the pieces. To top off a most interesting visit, we lucked into some traditional Cuban music in the Casa’s courtyard. We think it’s definitely worth a visit.