Palacio Brunet, now Trinidad’s Romance Museum, is a fine example of the architecture and furnishings that wealthy sugar barons built and amassed during the region’s heyday. Admire the well-kept exterior and see the treasures inside.
The mansion was constructed during the early days of Trinidad’s wealthiest century, starting in the late 1700s. While slaves labored in the sugar cane fields and mills in Valle de los Ingenios, plantation owners built palatial homes in the city of Trinidad. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage site that includes both parts of this historic region. Note the contrast of conditions for slave owners and slave laborers.
This building, once the home of the Borrell and Brunet families, displays a bright yellow exterior along the border of Plaza Mayor, Trinidad’s historic Main Square. Step inside and look up at the second-floor balconies decorated with green metalwork. The balconies on this section, which was added later, overlook a quiet central courtyard, paved with stone and decorated with large plants.
Wander through the interior rooms to learn about the luxurious lifestyle typical of the sugar barons of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Ornate chandeliers, once holding candles, hang below very high ceilings in nearly every room. Cabinets inlaid with exquisite hand-painted images display delicate porcelain and curios. Colorful wall treatments below chair rails and around doorways and windows make each room a custom masterpiece.
The home also reveals the more mundane elements of life during the era. See the kitchen where multiple cooking stations stand before a backsplash of colorful tiles. The delicate netting surrounding canopy beds kept mosquitoes away. A carved wooden chair above a chamber pot serves as a toilet and each bedroom has a pitcher and washbasin for daily ablutions.
There is a fee for entry to the Romance Museum, which is open from Tuesday through Sunday. Expect to pay extra if you take photos. Tip the guide inside for the Spanish-language tour, which provides extensive detail about the buildings history and furnishings. Visit the site’s small shop to purchase books and souvenirs.
