Our history
Ponce Ciudad Señorial
In 1692, Ponce, the largest city in the south of Puerto Rico, was officially founded, when the small chapel in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe became a Parish with the Cédula Real. For the year 1848 it was already declared a town, becoming head of the Civil, Military and Judicial Departments to be declared a city in 1877.
From that proud past, Ponce offers us great legacies that today translate into an intense historical tourist area. Several interesting places that Ponce offers are the Art Museum, the La Perla Theater, the Armstrong Poventud House, the Hacienda Buena Vista, restored in its entirety as a self-sufficient example of coffee and corn, the Museum of Puerto Rican Music, the Museum of the History of Ponce, Caja de Muerto Island (natural reserve with beautiful beaches), Cruceta del Vigía and, naturally, the Castillo Serrallés Museum.
Serralles Castle Museum
The Puerto Rican architect, Don Pedro Adolfo de Castro y Besosa, captured in this design, a series of elements that were taken from the Arab-Spanish world, using the architectural style known as "Spanish-Revival" (Spanish Revival), developed in the United States for the same time.
Inside the house you can appreciate, among other things, a cozy hall or hall with furniture from the so-called "high era", an elegant formal room, several bedrooms, an upper terrace from where you can see an impressive view of the city of Ponce and the Caribbean Sea, several turrets of great presence and an interior patio without rival in Puerto Rico.
The Museum, in turn, presents a series of temporary exhibitions and a permanent exhibition titled "La Hacienda Mercedita" for the enjoyment and cultural enrichment of the visiting public.
El Castillo belongs to the Municipality of Ponce and is managed as a Museum by the Patronato del Castillo Serrallés Inc., a non-profit organization, which comes from the private sector and is committed to Ponce's culture and tourism. The visitor will be able to appreciate in this Museum the testimony of a time and the development of the important sugar industry and its main derivative, rum.
