Our Mission
Preserving Finca Vigía: Saving the Legacy of One of America’s Most Iconic Writers
The home, located 12 miles from central Havana, Cuba, is filled with original furniture, artwork, china, fishing rods, animal trophies, guns, typewriters, and other objects collected by the author and his wives. His phonograph still works. Original liquor bottles are on display in the living room. Closets contain clothing, jewelry, and personal memorabilia. When Hemingway left in 1960, he had intended to return.
Of special importance is the author’s 9,000 book library—approximately 18% of the books have writing in the margins, several thousand irreplaceable letters and telegrams, more than 4,500 photographs, five scrapbooks, manuscripts, and galley proofs.
Some members of the board, staff, and US technical team in 2016 at the
Residence of the U.S. Chief of Mission in Havana, Cuba.
The 12 acre property contains the author’s beloved fishing boat, Pilar, in dry dock, a guest house, swimming pool with cabanas, a small baseball field where Hemingway pitched countless innings with his sons and children from the nearby village, and groves of almond, mango, and avocado trees.
Since 2005, with the assistance of The National Trust for Historic Preservation and an extraordinary team of architects and engineers, the Social Science Research Council, Mystic Seaport, and the Northeast Document Conservation Center working closely with our Cuban colleagues, the following has been accomplished:
- Hemingway’s home, Finca Vigía, underwent a partial renovation in 2005–2007. We offered advice on changes to the roof and windows while saving as many architectural features as possible. We also provided analysis of the mortar, stucco and paint, schematic drawings, and created a house chronology to assist the preservation efforts;
- The Foundation consulted the Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, CT, on the restoration project of Heminway’s yacht, Pilar;
- We taught conservation techniques and offered hands-on workshops resulting in the conservation and digitization of more than 10,000 documents, 4,500 photographs, and the five rare Hemingway scrapbooks. While the original documents remain in Cuba, digital images were archived at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts;
- Architects, engineers, and construction specialists designed an on-site archival storage facility with wet and dry conservation laboratories. The building of the Restoration Center began in 2015 and was completed in 2019. Today it functions as a state-of-the-art archival storage vault for the Hemingway collection as well as a conservation laboratory. It is not open to visitors.
- In December 2019 we conducted an in-depth study of architectural preservation for Hemingway’s main home, making recommendations for a total restoration. The results were presented to stakeholders.
- In March 2020 the global pandemic arrived and the world was placed on lock down. The Finca Vigía Foundation continued consulting virtually with conservators and others at the Finca.
- October 2022 marked the first time in two years that our US Technical Team returned to repair the malfunctioning air conditioning system in the Restoration Center. The visit was successful and work resumed as before.
- In September 2023 a careful assessment of the books, letters, map collection, and other items stored in the Archival Vault proved all documents were in very good condition. The HVAC had caused problems in the past year, but the dehumidification system worked well. There was no damage to American Nobel Laureate, Ernest Hemingway’s irreplaceable collection.