Casa de Los Condes de San Esteban de Canongo (Plaza Vieja) Havana

           The original house that was on this property was one of the two original houses that was built on this square during the mid-seventeenth century. The owners of this house during the nineteenth century sold it to Don Jose Agustin Valdes and Pedroso, the "Count of San Esteban de Cañongo", a prosperous land owner. Once he settled in and made major renovations a few years later, the house was christened with it's current title. By 1859 Don Pedroso's heirs sold the house, from then on it ceased to be a residence, it was occupied by one shop or another. In 1911 it was bought by Cosme Blanco and Herrera who acquired permission to do some major reconstruction to the house in 1912. The facade was changed, a third floor was added and along with a few more alterations it took on the appearance we see today. The rest is somewhat muddled but it went through many transformations until finally it was chopped up into smaller units used for housing while the lower floor was used for retail of some kind. Through the decades the building deteriorated due to neglect until the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana took hold of it in 2006. It reopened in 2008 and now houses an art gallery on the ground floor specializing in Belgian and Cuban cartoonists. It's a beautiful space and merits the few minutes it takes up visiting it.




San Ignacio # 358
e/ Muralla y Teniente Rey
Plaza Vieja