Today, the property is maintained by the Cuban government as a tourist attraction. While the main house remains pretty much as Hemingway left it, the Guest House (in which his sons stayed when visiting) has been transformed into administrative offices for the property. If you can overlook the souvenir venders on the lower portion of the grounds, you can easily imagine why Hemingway loved this tranquil setting. The views from the "Writer's Tower" that his fourth wife had constructed are spectacular! It's almost a shame that no one lives here anymore.
One of the most spectacular sites we visited in Cuba, was American author, Ernest Hemingway's house, situated on 15 acres of land in the San Francisco de Paula section. Originally built in 1886, Hemingway and his third wife bought this house in 1940 for $12,500 , and called it Finca Vigia (i.e. Lookout Farm). Hemingway loved Cuba, spending as much time as he could here. An avid reader, he collected over 9000 books, which can still be seen in their original bookcases throughout the house. The walls are also decorated with the heads of animals he hunted while on different African Safaris. Obsessed with protecting his beloved Cuba, he spent much of World War II self-patrolling the northern coast of the island in his own boat, the "Pilar" in search of German submarines. He never found one! The Nobel prize for literature that Hemingway won in 1954 ("The Old Man and the Sea") was donated to "Our Lady of Charity", the patron Saint of Cuba. Severely depressed, Hemingway left Cuba in 1960 and committed suicide in Idaho in July of 1961. Today, the property is maintained by the Cuban government as a tourist attraction. While the main house remains pretty much as Hemingway left it, the Guest House (in which his sons stayed when visiting) has been transformed into administrative offices for the property. If you can overlook the souvenir venders on the lower portion of the grounds, you can easily imagine why Hemingway loved this tranquil setting. The views from the "Writer's Tower" that his fourth wife had constructed are spectacular! It's almost a shame that no one lives here anymore. The main house. The Guest House, in which his sons stayed when they came to visit. Hemingway's living room. Viewing the dining room through the living room. ...and as seen from the other side. While officially known as "The Study", Hemingway did not write any of his books in this room... ...he preferred to do all his writing in his bedroom. Notice the typewriter on the bookcase. The white ceramic medallion of a bull on the wall is an original Picasso. One of the guest rooms within the main house Hemingway's fourth wife had this "Writer's Tower" constructed next to the main house. However, Hemingway preferred to do his writing in his bedroom. The Tower eventually became a "sanctuary" for the many cats he kept on the property. Our chance to look inside the Tower. The room at the top of the Tower as it looked before the cats took over. The view from the top of the Tower certainly was fantastic. Hemingway's 38 foot boat, the "Pilar" is amazingly similar to the boat that my father once owned, and made by the sme company, Wheeler.
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Carl and Lorraine Aveni are two retirees planning on traveling through Europe for at least one year.
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