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The Model of Havana is a novel and attractive way to know and admire Havana
The Model of the Historical Center of Havana is the largest in Cuba. Composed of 12 panels and covering an area of 48 square meters, it is from the cultural point of view an area of interest, knowledge, entertainment, instruction and education. Among the most representative buildings in the Historic Center of Havana are squares, convents, commercial, cultural and recreational centers, being the
Historic Center Model one of the most visited places in this place.
The Historic Center of Havana, known as Old Havana, has an area of 2.14 square kilometers. It is concluded that it is composed of two distinct areas from the urban point of view: the old walled city, and the surrounding strip that was built up to the demolition of the walls and built between the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth . In 1978, the historic center of Havana and its fortifications were declared a National Monument and in 1982, under the same concept, they were included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
The November 16, 1999, on the occasion of 480 anniversary of the founding of the city and during the IX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, it was opened by the City Historian Eusebio Leal the model of the Historical Center City of Havana in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Vilma Espin, who occupied the presidency of the Federation of Cuban Women, as part of the route of the First Latin American Ladies by Old Havana.
The creator of the Model of Havana was Orlando Martorell, who along with his wife performed this work at a scale of 1: 1500 for three years. This artist of Havana has built more than two thousand models and has contributed greatly to the formation of several generations of Cuban specialists in the art of the models. He performed among other works of art the tunnel model of Havana, during its construction; the Commerce Lonja, and the City of Havana built a scale of 1: 1000 which is equivalent to 144 square kilometers of representation. Through its work in carrying out the model of the historic center of Old Havana, you can browse the high peaks of the city, roof by roof. Subsequently, at the request of the Historian Eusebio Leal part of Casablanca and Regla municipalities was included, so you could see clearly the bag form of the Havana Bay.
Location of the Havana Model
Because of its size and dimensions it was necessary to search through the buildings of the Historic Center a building on the ground floor that would locate this model, the chosen site was the old Taquechel Pharmacy Store on 114 Mercaderes Street since it had large metal beams, a noble structure and small apertures in the roof as a skylight structure.
This work facilitates the study of the historic center from the point of view of the new insertions, urban planning, studies of the area and other educational goals. Lighting system is placed to simulate night and day, rising and setting sun, the lights and shadows of the city supplied by the Italian company Gamma Export. This system integrates sounds like birdsong, the characteristic sounds of the city, the sound of the waves, the bells of the churches, the 9:00 pm cannon fire sound to allow, for a few minutes on another scale, live fully the old city in our country. The journey in the model is facilitated by the support of guidelines that are there.
Havana Model
It is located on 28th Street, between first and third, in the neighborhood of Miramar, is another of the models made by Orlando Martorell: the Model of Havana. Built on an area of 144 square meters on a scale of 1:100. There are a total of 39 square meters and two boards with a total dimension of 22 meters long and 10 wide. The model weighs about 6 tons and so with these measures, is one of the largest in the world.
The idea behind the construction of this model was merely urban planning but soon became one of the main attractions of the city as it is made with utmost attention to detail, which can be observed by visitors by means of telescopes that widen vision and reveal monuments, squares, beaches, statues and more.
The colonial buildings are colored in brown, those that go from the 1900-1958 are colored in ocher and those from the time of the Revolution in ivory. With these colors you can see the development of the capital city over time.
