Edoardo De Nari, one of the Italian architects working in İstanbul in the final days of the Ottoman era and the first twenty-five years of the Republic, is a forgotten player of this transition period that was equally heterogeneous, colorful, and intriguing. The De Nari archives M. Arch. H. Büke Uras discovered three years ago not only disclose the real designer of a number of buildings whose architect was unknown, falsely known, or dubious, it also reflects, through the different styles of the architect, the aesthetic proclivities of the cosmopolitan upper class enjoying its final days in İstanbul. Comprised of aristocrats, non-Muslim Ottoman families, the Levantine circles, and the new bourgeoisies emerging out of the Republic, the clients commissioning his buildings shed light to the elements constituting this cosmopolitan world. The memories, letters, and photographs found in De Nari’s archives present to us the daily life and social setting of the architect as member of this world.
Mavi Boncuk |
(self portrait)Architect of Changing Times Edoardo De Nari
(b. italy 16 January1874 -d. Buyukada, Istanbul, Turkey August 16, 1954)
Past Exhibit Dates 18 December 2012 – 20 April 2013 [1]
Initiated by Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation İstanbul Research Institute, a series of exhibitions on architects and city planners who have left their imprint on İstanbul began with Raimondo D’Aronco and Henri Prost. This time, the series continues with Edoardo de Nari, one of the leading Italian architects active during the intriguing and colorful period of transition from the end of the Ottoman era to the first twenty-five years of the young Republic.
The exhibition, compiled from the private archives of Büke Uras, as well as different collections, not only stands testimony to the interesting life and career of an architect’s life between 1895 and 1954, but it also provides an architectural and social reading of the first half of the 20th century in İstanbul through a multifaceted individual; an İstanbul architect.
Although Edoardo De Nari may have been neglected in the history of local architecture, he nonetheless stood out in the architecture of his period in İstanbul. He was gifted in many areas and possessed qualifications that allowed him to practice his professional career in foreign lands: architect, engineer, composer, world traveler, and, finally, politician.
While revealing the real designer of a number of buildings whose architect remained unknown or ambiguous to date, the exhibition Architect of Changing Time: Edoardo De Nari also reflects, through the different styles of the architect, the aesthetic proclivities of a cosmopolitan upper class enjoying their final days in İstanbul. The memories, letters, journals, photographs, documents, and drawings comprising the exhibition not only provide us with a glimpse into the daily life and social circle of the architect, but they also mirror the sorrowful final period of a Beyoğlu bourgeoisie and a cosmopolitan İstanbul that no longer exist today.
![]( "Ed. De Na.")
Selected Works: Park Hotel (partially), Tepebaşı Casa D'Italia renovation, Elmadağ Surp Agop Apartments, Beyoğlu Şark (Lüks) ve Saray (Glorya) cinemas, Lion Mağazası, Santa Maria Draperis Church renovation, Saint'Antonio Kilisesi Construction and Karaköy L'Union Han. Atlı Köşk 1927 (now Sabanci Museum) of Prens Mehmed Ali Hasan grandson of Hıdiv İsmail Paşa is also by Edouard De Nari.
In 1913, the Istanbul associate concessionaire was Marcos Langas co-founder with G.Mongeri, E. de Nari of the Fabriques Unies de Ciment Arslan and director of the Société Anonyme Ottomane des Constructions (S.A.O.C.)
De Nari' was a naval officer who arrived to istanbul in December 14 1895 and married the daughter of Mortman (German) familiy daughter Christina on February 24, 1899.
[1] “Each big city undergoes change from one generation to the next. İstanbul, however, changed in a different way. A Parisian or a Londoner from each generation recalls the state of the city in which s/he was born and lived in thirty-forty years ago with some degree of sorrow due to a range of new customs, forms of entertainment, and architectural styles. İstanbul did not change this way; over the course of the fifteen years between 1908 and 1923, she completely lost her former identity,” writes Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, whose observations are undoubtedly accurate. It is, however, also a fact that the real change of identity occurred after the 1950s as a consequence of the rapid disintegration of the non-Muslim class that played a crucial role in the socio-economic life of the city in the late Ottoman period, the loss of wealth and prestige Muslim elites experienced, and the intense migration from rural to urban areas. Today’s İstanbulites live in such a different city amidst such a serious memory loss that they surely have very few memories they would “recall with sorrow.”
The exhibition series on architects and city planners that Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation İstanbul Research Institute initiated with Raimondo D’Aronco and Henri Prost continues with Edoardo De Nari. We sincerely hope that the exhibition will intrigue visitors interested in the recent architectural history and social life of İstanbul.
The exhibition series on architects and city planners that Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation İstanbul Research Institute initiated with Raimondo D’Aronco and Henri Prost continues with Edoardo De Nari. We sincerely hope that the exhibition will intrigue visitors interested in the recent architectural history and social life of İstanbul.
M. Baha Tanman