In 1853, José Sarrá, a pharmacist from Barcelona, arrived in Cuba. In 1886, he became a wholesaler. This humble family business grew into the world’s second largest pharmacy. In 1912, the grandson – Ernesto Sarrá – built this extravagant Art Nouveau mansion for his daughter and her new husband, Dioniso Velasco. After the Cuban Revolution, the Palacio Velasco-Sarrá was nationalized. In 1984, it became the Embassy of Spain. You can visit José Sarrá’s original pharmacy called Museo de la Farmacia Habanera.
