The Napoleonic Museum in Havana houses an impressive collection of art and mementos related to the well-known French emperor. See the assortment of items gathered by two powerful Cuban community leaders in the early 1900s.
Julio Lobo, a prominent businessman in Cuba’s early sugar industry, and the politician Orestes Ferrara collected items related to Napoleon and the Napoleonic era. Visit the collection in Ferrara’s one-time residence, Villa Fiorentina. The beautiful estate includes a large Renaissance-style palazzobuilt in the 1920s. The views from the 4th floor are outstanding.
The museum contains artwork and artifacts from the end of the French monarchy before Napoleon’s rise through the height of his rule to his exile and death. Look for paintings of the fateful Battle of Waterloo as well as a re-creation of Napoleon’s bedroom and study, with furniture and china from the wealthy period of his empire. Porcelain, coins, arms, books, engravings and letters are among the more than 7,000 pieces in the museum.
Notice how numerous painters presented different portraits of Napoleon and the imperial family. François Gérard created paintings of Napoleon’s sister Caroline and step-daughter Hortense, who also became Napoleon’s sister-in-law. Robert Lefevre painted Napoleon and his other sisters. Gros and Andrea Appiani painted Napoleon in Italy while Jean-Baptiste Regnault presented his camp in Boulogne, France. As Napoleon’s fame and infamy continued beyond his death, later artists including Vibert, Meissonier and Detaille created additional paintings of the Napoleonic saga. The collection includes sketches of the great French writer and philosopher Voltaire.
Seek out one important but eerie highlight of the museum, a bronze cast of Napoleon’s death mask. Doctor François Antommarchi made the original upon Napoleon’s death in St. Helena in 1833. Interestingly, the doctor studied yellow fever in Cuba in 1837 and died here soon after.
Havana’s Napoleonic Museum is close to the University of Havana, just west of Havana’s Old Town. The museum is open during daytime hours from Tuesday through Saturday as well as Sunday mornings. Visit this fascinating site in a former Spanish colony to get a detailed glimpse of one of French history’s most important figures.
