UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

07/19/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/19/2021 15:52

Santa Clara College: A future at the service of safeguarding the heritage of Cuba and the Caribbean

In the context of the celebration of Havana's 500th Anniversary, the former Santa Clara Convent opened its doors to show how recent restoration work has turned the former Sailor's House (Casa del Marino), located in the heart of the Convent's Cloister Two, into a site museum, a space where the general public can observe the impressive finds of archaeological excavations and become familiar with the life of the Poor Clares therein.

On the visit to the site made by Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Katherine Müller-Marín, by then Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Eusebio Leal expressed, 'It is a small 17th-century city locked inside these walls (...). The archaeological finds that have been obtained here are spectacular.'

The Site Museum is the epitome of the pinpoint care that went into the restoration of the former convent. For many years, the building was linked to the development of restoration arts in Cuba. From there, the National Centre for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM) and the UNESCO Regional Chair in Sciences for the Integrated Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRECI) promoted numerous workshops and courses in various specialties relative to the safeguarding of Cultural Heritage.