Hello everyone in this great community of worldmappin, on my last visit to the Cuban capital I didn’t want to miss a wonderful place that they had told me about for a long time, and since I love places with history, today I present them to you: The Vigia Farm.
The Vigía Farm is a historic and emblematic property located on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, which was the home of the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway for almost two decades. Acquired in 1940 by Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, this house became a creative refuge where the author wrote some of his most important works, such as “The Old Man and the Sea” and “For whom the bells ring.” But in itself, this property is a hidden jewel in nature that no one can imagine how many secrets it hides.
The house, located in the town of San Francisco de Paula, is located on a hill that offers beautiful panoramic views of Havana. The farm includes the main house, a watchtower, which was built to house its infinity of cats, a garage that later became a guest house, a swimming pool, and a large plot of land where Hemingway used to hunt and fish. The structure of the house reflects a mixture of colonial and Caribbean architectural styles, with large windows and an eclectic decoration that combines Cuban furniture and memories of the writer’s various expeditions to different countries.
Today, this estate has become a museum that preserves Hemingway’s memory and legacy. Visitors can explore the rooms as the author left them, only through their windows, since it is forbidden to enter due to the constant theft of valuables, but all the details can be perfectly appreciated in this one, with its collection of more than 9,000 books, magazines and manuscripts, as well as photographs, hunting trophies such as African lions, maples and buffaloes, an original from Piccaso and personal objects that reveal intimate aspects of his life and work.
In the watchtower, you can see the studio where Hemingway used to write standing, surrounded by the tranquility and charm of Cuban nature.
The museum also has a small pet cemetery, where some of the dogs and cats that accompanied Hemingway during his stay at the farm are buried. In addition, visitors can see the famous yacht “Pilar”, anchored on the property, which the writer used for his fishing adventures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and inspiration for his best-known work “The old man and the sea”.
The Vigía Farm is not only a testimony of Hemingway’s love for Cuba, but also a place of great cultural and literary importance. Its conservation and openness to the public allows visitors to approach the personal universe of one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century and better understand the deep relationship he had with the island and its people. I invite you to get to know this great place, the candles can reveal many anecdotes of the writer, you will not regret it.
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