Embargo hampering restoration effort of Hemingway villa in Cuba.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Ruth Morris

SAN FRANCISCO DE PAULA, Cuba _ The bullfighting posters have been packed away, the famous Royal typewriter stored in a dry place. His Cinzano bottle is gone, too, and his hot jazz collection.

Restoration has begun on the Cuban hilltop villa where Ernest Hemingway hung his hat and hunting trophies for 21 years, from 1939 to 1960. The swashbuckling author produced some of his most brilliant works at the house where he lived after leaving Key West.

It's also where he threw some of his most legendary parties. Cuban boxers and French existentialists raised glasses on the vine-draped verandah; movie star Ava Gardner reportedly skinny-dipped in the pool.

But as repairs progress, U.S. conservationists say the project lacks funding and materials they are eager to supply _ assistance banned under the terms of the 40-year-old U.S. embargo on travel and trade with the communist island.

What's more, they say the home may suffer irreparably if they aren't allowed to play a larger role. A Cuban team launched emergency preservation efforts earlier this year, drying sodden walls and adjusting sagging ceiling beams. But it's a major job, with limited resources.

"The house is...

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