Palacio Árabe (en: Arab Palace) is a

Neo-Mudéjar Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America. This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style. It was an architectural trend of the late 19 ...

building in downtown

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

History

The Palacio Árabe was built by Syrian immigrant Jalil Mahmud Hassein (Spanish form Julián Galli) who during a trip to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

became captivated by the Moorish architecture. Hassein then envisaged a six-stored condominium in

featuring the characteristics of the

mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

style. He commissioned the project to architect Valentín Brodsky, and the works began in 1945, under the direction of Florencio Marco.

Architecture

The residential building was completed in 1949 with five stores instead of the six originally foresaw by Galli, due to restrictions imposed by local regulations at the time. The Palacio Árabe combines different Moorish and Islamic ornaments, like the typical arcades,

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, m ...

decoration and polichrome tiles. The building tops off with a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

on the chamfer. A plaque on the building hall was dedicated to Galli by the Lebanese community in 1995.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Mar del Plata Moorish Revival palaces Residential buildings completed in 1949 Tourist attractions in Mar del Plata

History

Architecture

See also

References