La Sebastiana, Valparaíso, House museum on Bellavista Hill, Valparaíso, Chile.
La Sebastiana is a multi-story house on Bellavista Hill in Valparaíso, Chile, now serving as a museum. The building rises along the slope and offers wide views over the bay and the city from its upper rooms.
The Spanish builder Sebastián Collado Mauri began the house to spend his last years there, but it was left unfinished at his death. His family sold it to Pablo Neruda in 1959, and he inaugurated it on 18 September 1961 with a party on Chile's independence day. After Neruda died in 1973 the house stood abandoned under Pinochet's dictatorship until its restoration in 1991.
Neruda spent New Year's Eve here, and for 1973, the last year of his life, he gave guests a letter with the menu, each dish given an invented name and drawn in his habitual green ink. The walls are painted pink, blue, yellow, green and solferino, and among the objects are a stuffed bird from Venezuela and an Italian soup tureen shaped like a cow, used for serving punch.
The climb to the museum is steep, so visitors should wear sturdy shoes and allow enough time for the ascent. The upper floors are accessible only by a narrow spiral staircase, which may be difficult for those with limited mobility.
Neruda spent New Year's Eve at La Sebastiana and welcomed 1973 there, the last year of his life. For each celebration he handed guests a letter with the menu, giving every dish an invented name and drawing it in his usual green ink.
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