Sights in Sancti Spíritus
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A
Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre
Replicating its equally diminutive namesake in Miramar, Havana, this museum on Parque Maceo chronicles the 17,422km canoe odyssey from the Amazon to the Caribbean in 1987 led by Cuban writer and Renaissance man Antonio Nuñez Jiménez (1923–98). Some 432 explorers made the journey through 10 countries, from Ecuador to the Bahamas, in the twin dugout canoes Simón Bolívar and Hatuey. The latter measures over 13m and is the collection's central, prized piece. Beware of sporadic opening hours.
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Parque Serafín Sánchez
While not Cuba's shadiest or most atmospheric square, pretty Serafín Sánchez is full of understated Sancti Spíritus elegance. Metal chairs laid out inside the pedestrianized central domain are usually commandeered by cigar-smoking grandpas and flirty young couples with their sights set on some ebullient local nightlife. There's plenty to whet the appetite on the square's south side, where the impressive Casa de la Cultura often exports its music onto the street. Next door the columned Hellenic beauty that today serves as the Biblioteca Provincial Rubén Martínez Villena was built originally in 1929 by the Progress Society. Sport and coins make improbable bedfellows in…
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Iglesia Parroquial Mayor del Espíritu Santo
Overlooking Plaza Honorato is this verging-on-decrepit church. Originally constructed of wood in 1522 and rebuilt in stone in 1680, it's said to be the oldest church in Cuba still standing on its original foundations (although the clock seems to have given out in recent years). While the interior is crying out for some care and attention, locals are proud of this place. The best time to take a peek is during Sunday morning Mass. A small donation will go a long way.
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C
Puente Yayabo & Around
Looking like something out of an English country village, this quadruple-arched bridge is Sancti Spíritus' signature sight. Built by the Spanish in 1815, it carries traffic across the Río Yayabo and is now a national monument. For the best view (and a mirror-like reflection) hit the outdoor terrace at the Quinta Santa Elena. The Teatro Principal, alongside the bridge, dates from 1876, and the sun-bleached cobbled streets that lead uphill toward the city center are some of the settlement's oldest. The most sinuous is narrow Calle Llano, where old ladies peddle live chickens door to door, and feisty neighbors gossip noisily in front of their sky-blue or lemon-yellow…
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D
Galería de Arte
The Galería de Arte, next to the agropecuario (vegetable market; enter via Independencia Sur), houses numerous works by local painter Oscar Fernández Morera (1890–1946).
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Museo Provincial
Sport and coins make improbable bedfellows in the obligatory Museo Provincial on Parque Serafín Sánchez, which might appeal to numismatically minded baseball fanatics, but few others.
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Museo de Arte Colonial
This small museum displays 19th-century furniture and decorations in an imposing 17th-century building that once belonged to the sugar-rich Iznaga family, who owned half of Trinidad's Valle de los Ingenios.
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Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad
Across from the Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre is this once-handsome building, the city's second church. Its internal arches are a favored nesting spot for Cuban sparrows, who seem unfazed by the church's shocking state of disrepair.
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H
Museo de Ciencias Naturales
Not much of a natural history museum, this colonial house just off Parque Serafín Sánchez has a stuffed crocodile (which will scare the wits out of your three-year-old) and some shiny rock collections.
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Museo Casa Natal de Serafín Sánchez
Serafín Sánchez was a local patriot who took part in both Wars of Independence and went down fighting in November 1896. This museum cataloguing his heroics deserves a cursory glance. Be prepared to be followed from room to room by the ever-vigilant staff.
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Calle Llano
A quintessential local street with cobblestones, wrought-iron balconies and wooden beams reminiscent of Trinidad.
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Calle Independencia Sur
The city's revived shopping street is traffic-free and lined with statues, sculptures and myriad curiosity shops. Check out the the opulent Colonia Española Building, once a whites-only gentlemen's club, now a mini–department store. The Galería de Arte, next to the agropecuario (vegetable market; enter via Independencia Sur), houses numerous works by local painter Oscar Fernández Morera (1890–1946).
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Plaza Honorato
Formerly known as Plaza de Jesús, this tiny square was where the Spanish authorities once conducted grisly public hangings. Later on, it hosted a produce market, and scruffy peso stalls still line the small connecting lane to the east. The north side of the square is now occupied by the boutique hotel, Hostal del Rijo.
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