The Antiguo Cafetal Angerona, 5km west of Artemisa on the road to the Autopista Habana–Pinar del Río (A4), was one of Cuba’s earliest cafetales (coffee farms). It's now a national monument. Erected between 1813 and 1820 by Cornelio Sauchay, Angerona once employed 450 slaves tending 750,000 coffee plants. Behind the ruined mansion lie the slave barracks, an old watchtower from which the slaves were monitored, and multiple storage cellars. There's also a small museum with a reconstructed model of the cafetal buildings.
The estate is mentioned in novels by Cirilo Villaverde and Alejo Carpentier, and James A Michener devotes several pages to it in Six Days in Havana . It’s a quiet and atmospheric place that has the feel of a latter-day Roman ruin. Look for the stone-pillared gateway and sign on the right after you leave Artemisa.
