A NEW ERA FOR CASA GARIBALDI IN ISTANBUL: A LONG-TERM RESTORATION OF THE HISTORIC HEADQUARTERS OF THE ITALIAN WORKERS’ MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION: AN OVERVIEW OF THE RESTORATION OF ITS CHANDELIERS

Sedat Bornovali1, Andrea Griletto2, Francesco Panaciulli3

1 Casa Garibaldi Istanbul, sedat@garibaldi.org.tr

1Assorestauro, andrea.griletto@assorestauro.org

1 Reale Restauro, realerestauri@tiscali.it

ABSTRACT

The imminent inauguration of Casa Garibaldi, in 2015, will be a further step in the cooperation between Italy and Turkey in the field of restoration of cultural heritage. Due to the passion of the building’s curator, the involvement of the Italian Embassy, a strong Turkish sponsorship by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) and the support of specialized Italian companies, the restoration process is going to conclude.

The Italian Workers’ Mutual Aid Association in Constantinople was established in 1863 in honour of the ‘Hero of Two Worlds’. According to the former statute, Giuseppe Garibaldi was designated as the Executive Chairman of the Society, and Giuseppe Mazzini as the Honorary Chairman. At the foundation ceremony, the Society adopted the motto ‘Love your country through your work’. In 2012, the restoration work was started with the purpose of re-establishing the formal assets of the building, which were created after the first restoration, in 1909, by the architects Mongeri and De Nari, and which are now recalled, particularly by the iron artworks and chandeliers.

The present paper aims to represent this particular aspect of the ongoing restoration process. The iron artworks and chandeliers can recount the stylistic history of the earlier restoration project, which represents the beginning of the philological restoration that is currently underway. The case of the restoration of an ‘original’ end of ‘800, iron, bronze and antimony chandelier is presented through a description of its restoration process.

Keywords:

Istanbul, Pera, Restoration, Reuse, Renovation