Hemingway center opens in Cuba to preserve writer's work

A view of the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

SAN FRANCISCO DE PAULA, Cuba (Reuters) - A restoration center to preserve the work of Ernest Hemingway opened in Cuba on Saturday, highlighting an area of cooperation with the United States even as bilateral ties between the old Cold War foes have chilled again.

Hemingway, who won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1954, wrote some of his greatest books during the 21 years he lived at Finca Vigia, or Lookout Farm, now a museum in San Francisco de Paula on the outskirts of Havana.

A view of the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

The restoration center built by the Cuban National Cultural Heritage Council and Finca Vigia Foundation of the United States is located on the 15-acre (6-hectare) property where Hemingway lived in a tree-shaded, airy Spanish-style home.

"When we come together, when we work together, we can do positive and amazing things," Jim McGovern, a U.S. congressman for Massachusetts who wants better U.S.-Cuban relations, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

McGovern said the project would have been much easier were it not for the decades-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, that President Donald Trump has tightened since coming to power.

A view of books at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Hemingway moved to Finca Vigia in 1939, the year before "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was published, and wrote "The Old Man and the Sea", "A Moveable Feast" and "Islands in the Stream" while he was there, according to local scholars.

He left Cuba in 1960, more than a year after the Cuban revolution and less than a year before he killed himself in Idaho at age 61 amid a struggle with depression.

The writer left thousands of documents in Cuba, ranging from manuscripts of some of his works to letters, as well as photographs and annotated books.

U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern listens to guides during an event at the Ernest Hemingway Museum in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

The restoration center, which received financing from the Ford Foundation, American Express Philanthropy and the AT&T Foundation amongst others, includes laboratories and an air-conditioned vault.

The Cuban National Cultural Heritage Council and Finca Vigia Foundation had previously signed three cooperation agreements to conserve and disseminate the legacy of Hemingway.

Objects are displayed at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

(Reporting by Nelson Acosta; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

U.S. and Cuban flags are displayed at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during an event with U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Objects, including a plate by Pablo Picasso (L) are displayed at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern shows a picture of him with late Cuban President Fidel Castro during an event at the Ernest Hemingway Museum in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern reacts during an event at the Ernest Hemingway Museum in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Objects are displayed at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Objects are displayed at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

People look at objects at the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

A view of the Ernest Hemingway Museum during a visit of U.S. Congressman James Mcgovern (not pictured) in Havana, Cuba, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini