Located not far from the St. Francis Church in Oranjestad, there was a large field filled with aloe vera plants and fruit trees. The first owner who bought this land in 1850, about 175 years ago, called the plantation ‘Rust en Vrede’ (Peace and Tranquility).

In 1870 it was Jose Ramon Recui who bought the plantation and called his property ‘Sivi divi’, probably named after a plant called ‘Sivdigua’, locally known as Seida, a flowering plant species in Aruba.

In 1901 this land was sold to the Aruba Gold Concession Ltd., a gold mining and exporting company in Aruba. The Aruba Gold Concession built a large house with different rooms intended for the director of the company, the company engineer and chief of staff. It was called ‘Sivi divi’, just like the plantation it was on.

The house, at some distance from Oranjestad, consisted of different rooms, it had a rainwater tank with a pump and a pipe connection to the house.

Due to the precarious financial situation of Aruba Gold Concession, the company made plans to sell the house in 1907. Several people were interested. The company had the condition for the sale of the house that the buyer should have ‘a noble intention’ for it, like a charity. Pastor Jansen of Oranjestad on behalf of the Apostolic Vicar was also interested.

On February 12, 1908, the Apostolic Vicarage became the owner of the house. 

In 1909 the Dominican Sisters arrived in Aruba and went to live in the Sivi divi house. They were nurses and teachers – of girls schools – in Aruba. The house became the home of the Sisters who also established a small school – two classes – in it. It was called Santa Maria, the first girl school in Aruba founded by the Dominican Sisters.

The Dominican Sisters continued to live there until 1920. That’s when the Maria Convent was built behind the St Francis Church. The sisters then moved from the Sivi divi house to the Convent. Next to it a new school for girls was built, the Maria School, now Maria College.

The Sivi divi house then was integrated in what became the San Pedro di Verona Hospital. The wing to the right of the monumental entrance – with the white roof in the picture from 1963 – was the original Sivi divi house.

On October 1, 1920, the first 4 patients arrived to receive medical care. This is how San Pedro de Verona Hospital started with rooms divided into one for men and one for women; the chapel was converted into an operating room; there were four rooms for the Sisters.

Hospital San Pedro de Verona operated in this building until 1977. That was when the modern contemporary Dr. Horacio Oduber Hospital opened its doors.

Over the years a school operated in the complex of the former hospital. There were also several government departments which established themselves in the building. There were times when even homeless people lived in the old hospital.

In 1990 the building was renovated to accommodate a nursing home. In 1995 the building was officially handed over to Stichting Arubaanse Bejaardenzorg Aruba, SABA.

Currently the former San Pedro Hospital, together with the St. Michael Paviljoen, is a home for the elderly.

The Sivi divi house has played an important role in the history and development of Aruba and the former San Pedro hospital deserves to be recognized as a monument.