Roberto Giulio Mongeri (1 August 1873 - 30 November 1951) was an Ottoman Empire-born Italian-descent architect. He designed a number of notable buildings in Istanbul during the late period of the Ottoman Empire and in Ankara and other cities of Turkey in the early years of the Turkish Republic as a member of the First national architectural movement. He taught architecture at the School of Fine Arts in Istanbul.
Like many Italian families, the Mongeri family fled the Austrian occupation after the defeat of the Italians in the Battle of Novara in 1849 during the First Italian War of Independence, and took refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Luigi Mongeri (1818–1882), who studied philosophy and medicine, moved from Crete to Istanbul, then Constantinople. He significantly contributed in the fight against the spread of cholera epidemic in that time. During the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I (r.1839–1861), Luigi Mongeri was appointed to a hospital in Istanbul in 1857, and was promoted to the position of the chief physician in 1860. He served also as the personal doctor of the Sultan's sister Adile Sultan (1826–1899). During the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz (r.1861–1876), he was appointed chief physician of the newly established psychiatric hospital in 1873. He was awarded ordens from The Ottoman Empire and Kingdom of Italy.[1]
Personal life and early years
Roberto Giulio Mongeri was born to Italian-descent Luigi Mongeri and British-descent Tecla Taylor as the youngest child into a Turkish Levantine family in Istanbul on 1 August 1873. He had two brothers Federico and Luigi and a sister Marisa.[1]
Giulio went to Italy with his sister Marisa, and grew up with his uncles Giuseppe and Michele in Milan, where he started studying at Liceo classico Giuseppe Parini. He then continued his education studying architecture at Accademia di Brera in Milan, where his uncle Giuseppe taught. During his education years between 1893 and 1895, he took part in architecture project competition and won bronze medal. In 1896, he was honored with the Luigi Clerichetti award. He graduated on 28 October 1896 with an average score of 9.5 out of 10.[1]
He then started working in Italy for a grain silo construction at Port of Genoa. In summer holidays, he visited his mother and brother in Istanbul. After completion of the grain silo project, he returned to the Ottoman Empire to pursue a career. In his early years in Istanbul, he joined Società Operaia Italiana di Costantinapoli (Italian Workers' Society of Constantinaple), today Casa Garibaldi (Garibalidı House), and took part in the architectural works of Italians.[1]
Giulio Mongeri married to Italian-descent Caterina Capodaini (1877–1900), nicknamed Ketty, he met during a summer holiday in his brother's house on Büyükada, Istanbul. She died during the birth of her first child Guido (1900–1935). Giulio married then Caterina's sister Cristina (1879–1917). From this marriage, the five children, Ketty (1904), Alda (1909), Giulio (1910), Elena (1912) and Giovanna (1913), were born. While Elena and her family remained to live in Turkey, other members of the Mongeri family moved to Italy.[1]
During his stay in Istanbul, he was three times married and had seven children. He lived with his children and the nannies in the beginning in Pera, today Beyoğlu, and later in Şişli in houses he designed and built.[1]
Career
His project designs of a church in Lombardian style, a mansion in Italian Renaissance style, a mausoleum in Ancient Greek architectural design as well as an inn and a house in modern design were on display at the Istanbul Exhibition in 1903. In 1907, Mongeri was appointed architect of the Italian Embassy in Istanbul, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire. He was selected corresponding member of the Brera Academy in Milan. He became the official architect of the Ottoman Bank in 1911.[1]
In 1909, Mongeri was appointed to teach in the Architecture Department at the School of Fine Arts (Ottoman Turkish: Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi), today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, which was one of the first institutions in the Ottoman Empire under the direction of Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910) to provide architectural education in western manner. With the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912), some Italian-origin people in the Ottoman Empire were forced to leave the country. So, the Mongeri's duty was suspended. The Municipality of Milan sent Mongeri a certificate of appreciation for his aid and support to his exiled siblings during the war time. He resumed his teaching duty in the academy in 1922, and served in this position auntil 1930.[1]
Mongeri designed a number of notable buildings primarily in Istanbul, but also in Ankara, Bursa and some other cities between the 1900s and 1930s. He is considered as an important member of the First national architectural movement.[2]
Mongeri's known first work was his design of the Church of St. Anthony (1906–1912),[3] and apartments,[4] together with Italian-Levantine architect Eduardo de Nari.[3] The buildings he designed during the late years of the Empire in Istanbul were mostly for the Italian community. Among his works, for he preferred Western eclectic architectural style,[1] are the office building of Assicurazioni Generali (1909),[5]Bulgur Palas (1912),[6] the Majik Cinema (1914–1920),[7] the building of the Italian Embassy (1919), today Consulate-General, Karaköy Palas (1920),[8] and Maçka Palas (1922–1926).[9]
Works during the early Turkish Republican era
After the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, he designed buildings in several cities of Turkey becoming a member of the First national architectural movement (1927–1938).[1]
He used more ornamentation for the interior and façade of the buildings in Ankara than other Turkish architects of his time. He designed the ceilings of the buildings covered with the new materials steel and glass. The ceilings of the headquarters of Ziraat Bank and İşbank were decorated with stained glass of European floral motfs. His known last design was for the Spa Hotel Çelik Palas in Bursa.[1]
Later years and death
After 1933, Mongeri did not involve in any architectural activities. The importance he gave to the garden of his mansion on Güzelbahçe Sokak (literally: Beautiful Garden Street) in Teşvikiye, Şişli shows his love for nature and flowers. He devoted himself to philately and painting.[1]
In 1941, Mongeri moved to Venice, Italy to live with his daughters Alda and Giovanna. He started painting and drawing. Two paintings from 1942 named Laguna and Lido di Venezia signed by him are known to exist. There are many drawings of Venetian fountains and arches found in his drawing pad.[1]
In 1951, Mongeri went back to Istanbul to visit his daughter Elena. He stayed two months, and had cataract surgery in that time.[1]
After his return to Venice the same year, Giulio Mongeri died at the age of 78 on 30 November 1951. He was buried in the family tomb at Cimitero Monumentale di Milano. On 5 December, a spiritual service was held in his memory at the Church of St. Anthony in Istanbul he had co-designed.[1]
Nişantaşı is a residential quarter in the Şişli district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Nişantaşı quarter has four neighbourhoods: Teşvikiye, Maçka, Osmanbey and Pangaltı. The centre of the Nişantaşı quarter is at the neighbourhood of Teşvikiye, which is separated from the neighbourhood of Osmanbey to the west by the Vali Konağı Avenue and Rumeli Avenue. Osmanbey is separated from the Pangaltı neighbourhood further to the west by the busy Halaskargazi Avenue in Şişli. The neighbourhood of Maçka is immediately to the south of Teşvikiye. Nişantaşı is a popular shopping quarter, full of boutiques, department stores, cafés, pubs, restaurants and night clubs. Many of the streets are still full of fine 19th and early 20th-century apartment blocks. Directly to the south lies the large and wooded Maçka Park, and to the east the Beşiktaş district.
Ziraat Bankası is a Turkish state-owned bank founded in 1863. The bank provides commercial loan support to companies and tradesmen, as well as personal loans such as consumer loans, vehicle loans and housing loans.
The architecture of Turkey includes heritage from the ancient era of Anatolia to the present day. Significant remains from the Greco-Roman period are located throughout the country. The Byzantine period produced, among other monuments, the celebrated Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Following the arrival of the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century, Seljuk architecture mixed Islamic architecture with other styles of local architecture in Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire ushered in a centuries-long tradition of Ottoman architecture up until the early 20th century.
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University is a public art university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university's campus is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu.
Halil İnalcık was a Turkish historian. His highly influential research centered on social and economic approaches to the Ottoman Empire. His academic career started at Ankara University, where he completed his PhD and worked between 1940 and 1972. Between 1972 and 1986 he taught Ottoman history at the University of Chicago. From 1994 on he taught at Bilkent University, where he founded the history department. He was a founding member of the Eurasian Academy.
The 52-floor Isbank Tower 1 is the tallest of the three skyscrapers of the Türkiye İş Bankası headquarters in Levent, Istanbul. It was formerly the tallest skyscraper in Turkey and the Balkans. It entered service with the ceremonies between August 23 and 26, 2000.
The Church of St. Anthony of Padua, alternatively known as Sant'Antonio di Padova Church or S. Antonio di Padova, is the largest Catholic church in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district.
İşbank, officially Türkiye İş Bankası, is a commercial bank in Turkey. Founded by the orders of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1924, it is the first bank to go into operation in the Republic of Türkiye.
Ahmed Kemaleddin, widely known as Mimar Kemaleddin was a Turkish architect, and one of the leading figures of the First National architectural movement, alongside Vedat Tek.
Mehmet Vedat Tek was a Turkish architect. The last court architect of the Ottoman Empire, Vedat Tek was one of two leading figures of the First Turkish National Architectural Movement, alongside Mimar Kemaleddin.
Paolo Vietti-Violi was an Italian architect. His work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Turgut Cansever was a Turkish architect and city planner. He is the only architect to win the Aga Khan Award for Architecture three times. He is known as "The Wise Architect". He took charge in many towns, zoning, and protected area projects. He designed Beyazıt Square and was the author of the first art history doctoral thesis in Turkey.
Maçka is one of the four neighbourhoods within the Nişantaşı quarter of the Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey.
İşbank Museum is a bank museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
The First national architectural movement, also referred to in Turkey as the National architectural Renaissance, or Turkish Neoclassical architecture, was a period of Turkish architecture that was most prevalent between 1908 and 1930 but continued until the end of the 1930s. Inspired by Ottomanism, the movement sought to capture classical elements of Ottoman and Anatolian Seljuk architecture and use them in the construction of modern buildings. Despite the style focusing on Ottoman aspects, it was most prevalent during the first decade of the Republic of Turkey.
Sedad Hakkı Eldem, was a Turkish architect and one of the pioneers of nationalized modern architecture in Turkey.
Gencay Kasapçı was a Turkish painter who specialized in fresco, glass art and mosaic.
İşbank Museum is a museum in Ankara, Turkey. The official name of the museum is "Economic Independence Museum". This is the second museum of the bank the first being the İşbank Museum in Istanbul. The museum is in Ulus Square facing the Victory Monument at 39°56′34″N32°51′17″E.
The Bank of Salonica was a regional bank headquartered in Thessaloniki and Istanbul. Created in 1886 under the initial leadership of the Salonica Jewish Allatini family with Austrian, Hungarian and French banking partners, it contributed to the development of the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Balkans during the late Ottoman Empire. In the Interwar period its activity was mainly focused on Northern Greece, where it operated until the German occupation, and Turkey, where it kept operating until 2001, albeit under different names after 1969. Its preserved headquarters buildings are landmarks, respectively, of Valaoritou Street, a significant thoroughfare of downtown Thessaloniki, and of Bankalar Caddesi in the Karaköy neighborhood of Istanbul.
The Bulgur Palas, originally known as the Bolulu Habip Bey Mansion, is a historical mansion located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was restored and redeveloped into a library and cultural center for public use after its acquisition by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
