Architectural Features
Almost all of the dwelling houses in the haciendas in Valle de
Ingenios, except Buena Vista, were built in the late 18th and
early 19th centuries, and the dwelling house in Guáimaro is the
best representative of the architectural features that prevailed
in Trinidad and its surroundings at that time. Almost all of
them have been transformed to some extent, without this
substantially affecting the typological integrity of these
constructions, with the exception of Güinía de Soto that was
remodeled in an eclectic manner in the 20th century, and
Manacas-Iznaga, whose portal was modified and rebuilt.
The dwelling house was a very solid house, built with masonry and covered with wooden ceilings. Taking advantage of small elevations, it was located in a position that will dominate the environment and see everywhere.
The portal that is attached to the main façade and supported by pillars that, in turn, support a series of arches, is the part that distinguishes this dwelling house from others. Most likely the portal with arches on pillars of Guáimaro is added later. The portal is covered with a flat roof and the fronts are finished off with a cornice and parapet.
In the dwelling house, the corridors on the sides have posts and are covered with canopy-like roofs.
The windows are protected with wooden bars and finished off with cornices and moldings similar to those seen in many houses in Trinidad.
As can be seen in other farms in the valley, the building is rectangular in shape and consists of two sections. However, this rectangular shape is inscribed as the center of another larger rectangle, generally open to the front and back in the form of corridors and closed on the sides, giving rise to new spaces that represent a spatial increase in the perimeter. The last residents of this house call one of these spaces “the office”. It is also known that one of the rooms was originally destined for a chapel, whose entrance is duly enhanced with a ringed doorway.
The front section consists of 5 rooms and the back section consists of 3 rooms. The central room opens in arches outwards. The corridors are developed on all four sides of the house. The building was enlarged on its sides, with the addition of the so-called offices and the replacement of the wooden posts by the arches on pillars on the main facade.
The most striking feature of the dwelling house, which is estimated to have been started in the 1840s and completed in 1859, is the murals from floor to the ceiling that reflected the Neoclassical themes in the European style. Large paintings are ornately framed to look like oil paintings hanging on the wall. The paintings represent pastoral scenes of dilapidated castles, or reproductions of neoclassical architectural ensembles and the characteristic willow trees that can be seen in romantic paintings. The decoration of the walls, divided into fields, is very different from those seen in Trinidad and its surroundings. These murals reveal their details more strikingly, especially at sunset.
Fantastic stories loom over this mansion, such as strange noises, footsteps in the house, shadows moving around the living room or dining room, chairs that rock by themselves... On one of the exterior sides of the house, there was an image of the devil that could never be covered with any paint until it was finally torn down.
Only men lived in the barracks next to the farmhouse, and he never allowed them to have any contact with the 18 women who worked as domestic servants.
Almost all of the dwelling houses in the haciendas in Valle de
Ingenios, except Buena Vista, were built in the late 18th and
early 19th centuries, and the dwelling house in Guáimaro is the
best representative of the architectural features that prevailed
in Trinidad and its surroundings at that time. Almost all of
them have been transformed to some extent, without this
substantially affecting the typological integrity of these
constructions, with the exception of Güinía de Soto that was
remodeled in an eclectic manner in the 20th century, and
Manacas-Iznaga, whose portal was modified and rebuilt.The dwelling house was a very solid house, built with masonry and covered with wooden ceilings. Taking advantage of small elevations, it was located in a position that will dominate the environment and see everywhere.
The portal that is attached to the main façade and supported by pillars that, in turn, support a series of arches, is the part that distinguishes this dwelling house from others. Most likely the portal with arches on pillars of Guáimaro is added later. The portal is covered with a flat roof and the fronts are finished off with a cornice and parapet.
In the dwelling house, the corridors on the sides have posts and are covered with canopy-like roofs.
The windows are protected with wooden bars and finished off with cornices and moldings similar to those seen in many houses in Trinidad.
As can be seen in other farms in the valley, the building is rectangular in shape and consists of two sections. However, this rectangular shape is inscribed as the center of another larger rectangle, generally open to the front and back in the form of corridors and closed on the sides, giving rise to new spaces that represent a spatial increase in the perimeter. The last residents of this house call one of these spaces “the office”. It is also known that one of the rooms was originally destined for a chapel, whose entrance is duly enhanced with a ringed doorway.
The front section consists of 5 rooms and the back section consists of 3 rooms. The central room opens in arches outwards. The corridors are developed on all four sides of the house. The building was enlarged on its sides, with the addition of the so-called offices and the replacement of the wooden posts by the arches on pillars on the main facade.
The most striking feature of the dwelling house, which is estimated to have been started in the 1840s and completed in 1859, is the murals from floor to the ceiling that reflected the Neoclassical themes in the European style. Large paintings are ornately framed to look like oil paintings hanging on the wall. The paintings represent pastoral scenes of dilapidated castles, or reproductions of neoclassical architectural ensembles and the characteristic willow trees that can be seen in romantic paintings. The decoration of the walls, divided into fields, is very different from those seen in Trinidad and its surroundings. These murals reveal their details more strikingly, especially at sunset.
Fantastic stories loom over this mansion, such as strange noises, footsteps in the house, shadows moving around the living room or dining room, chairs that rock by themselves... On one of the exterior sides of the house, there was an image of the devil that could never be covered with any paint until it was finally torn down.
Only men lived in the barracks next to the farmhouse, and he never allowed them to have any contact with the 18 women who worked as domestic servants.