Villa Allatini () is a three-storey

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

building on Vasilissis Olgas Avenue in the area of

Depot Depot may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Glacier (disambiguation) * Depot Island (disambiguation) * Depot Nunatak * Depot Peak Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Chicago, United States * Of ...

in the east of the Municipality of Thessaloniki,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It was constructed in 1898 when Thessaloniki was part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

History

It was built in 1898 by the Italian architect

Vitaliano Poselli Vitaliano Poselli (1840–1918) was an Italians, Italian architect from Sicily, mostly known for his work in the city of Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. Life He was born in Castiglione di Sicilia in 1838, and studied in Rome. In 1867, the Catho ...

, who also designed the Mills of Allatini that were founded in 1890, and the head office of Allatini-affiliated

Banque de Salonique The Bank of Salonica (, , ) was a regional bank headquartered in Thessaloniki (then known as Salonica) and Istanbul. Created in 1886 under the initial leadership of the History of the Jews in Thessaloniki, Salonica Jewish Allatini family with Au ...

in downtown Thessaloniki. At that time the region where the villa is located was called the district of "Countrysides" (des Campagnes) or "Towers", and was the easternmost limit of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. In the first period of its use, the villa was the countryside residence of the Salonica Jewish Allatini family. After the emergence of the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

movement, from 1909 until 1911 it was used as the residence of the sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

, who after his unseating by the Young Turks lived there under house arrest. In 1926 it housed the Philosophical School for one year, the unique department of the newly founded

University of Thessaloniki The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest Tertiary education, tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stagira (anc ...

, while during the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

(1940-1941) it was used as a hospital. From 1979 the

Prefecture of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki ( ''Mitropolitiki enotita Thessaloníkis'', ''Metropolitan unit of Thessaloniki'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Modern regions of Greece, Region of Central Macedonia and its capital is the city of Thessalon ...

had its headquarters in Villa Allatini. In 2011 after the implementation of the

Kallikratis Plan The Kallikratis Programme () is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the country's administrative divisions following the 1997 Kapodistrias reform. ...

, the prefecture was abolished and replaced by regional self-governing bodies. Today Villa Allatini houses the administration of the region of

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

References

{{Ottoman monuments of Thessaloniki 1898 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Buildings and structures in Thessaloniki Eclectic architecture in Greece Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki Buildings and structures completed in 1898 Villas in Greece Baroque architecture in Greece

History

See also

References