Museum sights in Trinidad
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A
Museo Histórico Municipal
The showpiece museum here is the grandiose Museo Histórico Municipal, just off Plaza Mayor, housed in a mansion that belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830. Later the building passed to a German planter named Kanter or Cantero, and it’s still called Casa Cantero. Reputedly Dr Justo Cantero acquired vast sugar estates by poisoning an old slave trader and marrying his widow, who also suffered an untimely death. Cantero’s ill-gotten wealth is well displayed in the stylish neoclassical decoration of the rooms. The view of Trinidad from the top of the tower alone is worth the price of admission. Visit before 11am, when the tour buses start rolling in.
reviewed
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San Francisco de Asís
Perhaps the most recognizable building in Trinidad is the quaint yellow bell-tower of the former convent of San Francisco de Asís. Since 1986 the building has housed the Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Bandidos (tel:4121, open from 09:00 to 18:00 Tuesday to Sunday).
The displays are mostly photos, maps, weapons and other objects relating to the struggle against the various counterrevolutionary bands that operated in Sierra del Escambray between 1960 and 1965. The fuselage of a US U-2 spy plane shot down over Cuba is also on display. Here, too, you can climb the tower for good views. It's on the corner of Piro Guinart.
reviewed
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B
Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Bandidos
Perhaps the most recognizable building in Trinidad is the withered pastel-yellow bell-tower of the former convent of San Francisco de Asís. Since 1986 the building has housed the Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Bandidos. The displays are mostly photos, maps, weapons and other objects relating to the struggle against the various counterrevolutionary bands that took a leaf out of Fidel’s book and operated illicitly out of the Sierra del Escambray between 1960 and 1965. The fuselage of a US U-2 spy plane shot down over Cuba is also on display. You can climb the tower for good views.
reviewed
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C
Museo Romántico
The Museo Romántico is in the glittering Palacio Brunet. The ground floor was built in 1740, and the upstairs was added in 1808. In 1974 the mansion was converted into a museum with 19th-century furnishings, a fine collection of china and various other period pieces. Pushy museum staff will materialize out of the shadows for a tip. The shop adjacent has a good selection of photos and books in English.
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D
Museo de Arquitectura Trinitaria
A public display of wealth is in the Museo de Arquitectura Trinitaria, on the southeastern side of Plaza Mayor, showcasing upper-class domestic architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum is housed in buildings erected in 1738 and 1785 that were joined together in 1819. It was once the residence of the wealthy Iznaga family.
reviewed
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E
Museo de Arqueología Guamuhaya
On the northwestern side of Plaza Mayor is the Museo de Arqueología Guamuhaya, an odd mix of stuffed animals, native bones, and vaguely incongruous 19th-century kitchen furniture. Don’t make it your first priority.
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