The Splendor of El Museo Castillo Serralles
El Museo Castillo Serrallès, also known as the Castillo Serralles or Serralles Castle, was constructed in the 1930’s on El Vigia Hill that over looks the entire city of Ponce. It was on this hill that scouts often used to perch themselves to look out for ships that might attack the city. Juan Serralles founded Serralles Distillers who was responsible for the making of the famous Don Q Rum. The Serralles family had become very powerful and rich through the corporate empire that the family patriarch had built. It was Juan’s son, Juan Eugenio Serralles, who recruited the well-known architect, Pedro Adolfo de Castro y Besosa. Besosa was a local architect that designed and oversaw the construction of the castle, El Museo Castillo Serrallès.
This magnificent attraction in Puerto Rico is a visual testament to the sugar-boom of the time. It was this boom that made many families, like the Serralles family, very rich. Castillo Serralles is designed in a Spanish Revival form of architectural splendor. This style was extremely popular in the 1920’s and the Serralles Castle overflows with style, nostalgia and an air of royalty. In the 1980’s the Serralles family sold Castillo Serralles to the city of Ponce and today it is a museum. Visitors to this attraction are taken on a tour through the history of the sugar industry where they learn about the great impact the sugar boom of the 20th century had on the Puerto Rican economy.
Not only is the Serralles Castle Museum educational, but visitors are able to marvel at the magnificent castle and imagine a life within the walls of such splendor. The castle consists of spacious bedrooms, a beautiful indoor patio, massive dining room and an entrance hall that is the ultimate example of style, class and grace. The breathtaking design does not stop with the castle walls. Lavish terraced gardens await you with sparkling fountains, endless green lawns and exotic plants that have been planted deliberately to form patterns and carry the Spanish Revival style of the castle outdoors. So much detail was given to the Castillo Serralles that even the ironwork found around the castle matches the exotic plants that decorate the garden.
As one of the most talked about attractions in Puerto Rico, a trip to the El Museo Castillo Serrallès is definitely recommended - if not for the knowledge that you are able to gain, then just to dream of being the prince or princess of Puerto Rico for a day. A café for refreshments and souvenir shop where you can purchase something to remember this remarkable castle by is also available on the grounds.
User Comments & Reviews
2009-10-27 01:53:00
I enjoyed this article on El Museo Castillo Serralles very much. We, my husband and I attended a beautiful wedding there about 14 years ago. We enjoyed the Ponce area and the weather is wonderful. Thank you for sharing this web site with us.
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