The Palacio Velasco-Sarrá was built by Ernesto Sarrá
in a strategic location of Old Havana in 1912. Ernesto Sarrá
was the grandson of the Catalan pharmacist and wholesaler
José Sarrá that arrived in Havana in 1853 and established
the pharmacy La Reunión in Old Havana, that grew into the
largest pharmacy in the Latin America and the world’s second
largest pharmacy after the American Johnson in a short time,
like 50 years. Ernesto Sarrá, the head of the family
business, built this mansion for his daughter María Teresa
Sarrá and his new husband Dioniso Velasco that also lent a
hand from his position as councilor. Thus, this extravagant
Art Nouveau mansion was called the Palacio Velasco-Sarrá.
Its architects were José Mato Sequeiro and Francisco Ramírez
Ovando.
After the
death of Dioniso Velasco in 1932, the palace passed into the
hands of Teresa, one of his daughters. The building was
renovated by Teresa’s husband Álvaro González Gordon in
1936. After the revolution, the Palacio Velasco-Sarrá was
expropriated in 1961. After years of neglect, it became the
property of the Embassy of Spain and it was used as its
Commercial Office. Since 1984, the building is used as
Embassy of Spain, being the only diplomatic headquarters
located in the Old Havana
The
neocolonial, three-floors building with the lookout tower
has an extravagantly ornamented façade and a stepped image
that was popular in Havana in the first decades of the 20th
century. It is square shaped at its base and a recessed
body, intended for library, was added at the top. There is a
central courtyard in its interior, surrounded by large
galleries that are supported by large columns. The floors
are paved with mosaic. Precious wood and Carrera marble are
used in the modernist design of the interior.
