Casa Cautiño is a
house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a v ...
in
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the ce ...
. The museum collection, administered by the
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture ( es, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preser ...
, include works of art, wood carvings, sculptures and furniture built by Puerto Rican cabinetmakers for the Cautiño family.
[.] It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
The house was owned by Genaro Cautiño Vázquez, a wealthy Guayama landowner as well as a colonel of the
Volunteer Battalion of the Spanish Army. During the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
, the house was the headquarters for the American forces. After the war, Genaro Cautiño returned to occupy the house. An additional Annex house, for extended family, also once existed next to the Iglesia San Antonio. Also a tunnel still exists liking Casa Cautiño, the annex house and Iglesia San Antonio.
The U-shaped structure is one-story with an interior patio, which local architect Manual Texidor built in 1887 after graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris.
It features some of the elements of the
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
style, such as cornices, pilasters,
candelabra, Roman arches, relief motifs, and classical ornamentation. These elements were blended with some of the details of the popular architecture of the southern area of Puerto Rico that prevailed when the structure was built.
[.]
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Guayama, Puerto Rico
*
List of museums in Puerto Rico
References
External links
*
Article about Casa CautiñoMuseo Casa Cautiñovideo tour
Historic house museums in Puerto Rico
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico
Neoclassical architecture in Puerto Rico
National Register of Historic Places in Guayama, Puerto Rico
Houses completed in 1887
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