The Camondo family was a prominent
European family of
Jewish financiers and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
s.
History
Part of the
Sephardic community in
Spain, the Camondo family settled in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
after the
1492 Spanish decree that ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused conversion to
Catholicism. There, some of its members became famous for their scholarship and for the services which they rendered to their adopted country. Following the
Austrian takeover of Venice in 1798, members of the Camondo family established themselves in
Istanbul. Despite the many restrictions and sumptuary laws imposed on
non-Muslims, the family flourished as merchants in the business section at
Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
on the outskirts of the city. They branched into finance in 1802 with the founding of their own bank, ''Isaac Camondo & Cie''.
On Isaac's death in 1832, his brother
Abraham Salomon Camondo inherited the bank. He prospered greatly and became the prime banker to the
Ottoman Empire until the founding of the
Imperial Ottoman Bank in 1863. In 1865, he relinquished his Austrian citizenship to become a national of the newly created
Kingdom of Italy. In recognition of his contributions and financial assistance to the liberation of
Venetia from the
Austrian Empire, Abraham Salomon Camondo was
created a hereditary
count in 1870 by
King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. The operations of the Camondo bank reflected the transformation of the Jewish community in Constantinople and beyond it, of the Ottoman financial system. Its ledger of real estate transactions was originally held in Hebrew from 1833 to 1858, then in Italian until 1866, then in French.
In 1869, Abraham Salomon Camondo's grandsons (1829–1889) and
Nissim Camondo (1830–1889) to
Paris,
France, a city the family had previously frequented and where they had established business connections. Abraham Salomon soon followed them and died in Paris in 1873, but in accordance with his wishes, his remains were returned to Istanbul for burial there in the Jewish cemetery at
Hasköy, a neighbourhood on the
Golden Horn in
Istanbul. His two grandsons remained in Paris and continued to successfully expand the banking business from there until their respective deaths, both in 1889, while keeping a strong link with their native Constantinople.
The next generation, cousins
Isaac and
Moïse
Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...
Camondo, both based in Paris, did not display interest in further developing the family business. The banking operations in Constantinople were closed by decision of Isaac Camondo in 1894.
This family is now extinct after the last descendants died:
Nissim de Camondo was killed in aerial combat during
World War I in 1917, his father
Moïse de Camondo died in 1935, then his sister
Béatrice de Camondo Béatrice is a French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Béatrice Bonifassi (born c. 1971), French-born vocalist
* Béatrice Dalle (born 1964), French actress
* Béatrice de Camondo (1894–1944), French socialite and a ...
, along with her two children (Fanny and Bertrand) and her ex-husband , were deported and murdered in
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
around 1944 during
World War II.
Principal members of the Camondo family
Principal members of the Camondo family include:
*
Abraham Salomon Camondo (1781–1873), Jewish-Turkish banker and philanthropist
** (1810–1866)
*** (1829–1889)
****
Isaac de Camondo (1851–1911)
***
Nissim Camondo (1830–1889)
****
Moïse de Camondo (1860–1935), French banker and art collector
*****
Nissim de Camondo (1892–1917), French banker and
World War I pilot
*****
Béatrice de Camondo Béatrice is a French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Béatrice Bonifassi (born c. 1971), French-born vocalist
* Béatrice Dalle (born 1964), French actress
* Béatrice de Camondo (1894–1944), French socialite and a ...
(1894–1944), French socialite
Notable buildings associated with the Camondo family
Paris
The
Musée Nissim de Camondo is located in the 8e arrondissement in Paris, at 63, rue de Monceau, where Nissim Camondo lived from 1870 until his death in 1889, then his widow Elise until 1910. The property was then inherited by
Moïse de Camondo who had it torn down and rebuilt on a design by architect
René Sergent, inspired by the
Petit Trianon in
Versailles. The building and its contents have been preserved in their state at the death of Moïse Camondo in 1935.
From the late 1870s Abraham Behar Camondo lived at 61 rue de Monceau, next door to his brother Nissim. He bought the land in 1870 and had a mansion built there on a design by architect
Denis-Louis Destors, who also remodeled Nissim's house at number 63. His son
Isaac de Camondo sold the estate in 1893 to industrialist . In 1946 it became the headquarters of the , which purchased it from the Meniers. Its interior arrangements were demolished in the late 1970s. In 2005, it became the Paris office of
Morgan Stanley.
The Camondo bank's offices in Paris were at 31, rue La Fayette.
Istanbul
Camondo Palace
The seaside mansion of the Camondo family, popularly known as the Camondo Palace (''Kamondo Sarayı''),
[ was built between 1865 and 1869 and designed by architect Sarkis Balyan.][Bahriye Nezareti (Ministry of the Navy) building]
/ref>[Bahriye Nezareti (Ministry of the Navy) building]
It is located on the northern shore of the Golden Horn, within the Kasımpaşa quarter of the Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
district, to the west of Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
( Karaköy). It later became the headquarters of the Ministry of the Navy (''Bahriye Nezareti'')[ during the late Ottoman period, and is currently used by the Turkish Navy as the headquarters of the Northern Sea Area Command (''Kuzey Deniz Saha Komutanlığı'').)][
]
Camondo Apartment Buildings
The Camondo family also built two historic apartment buildings in Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
, both of which are named ''Kamondo Apartmanı'': the older one is located at Serdar-ı Ekrem Street near Galata Tower and was built between 1861 and 1868;[Kamondo Apartmanı (1868) at Serdar-ı Ekrem Street]
while the newer one is located at the corner between Felek Street and Hacı Ali Street and was built in 1881; it was later converted into the upscale Galata Residence Hotel.
Camondo Steps
The ''Camondo Steps'', a famous pedestrian stairway designed with a unique mix of the Neo-Baroque and early Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
styles, was built in circa 1870–1880 by Abraham Salomon Camondo. It forms the part of Bereketzade Medresesi Sokağı (Bereketzade Madrasa Street) that connects Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) with Banker Sokak (Banker Street) in the Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
( Karaköy) quarter of Istanbul.
See also
* History of the Jews in Turkey
References
Notes
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Camondo family tree
{{Banking families
Italian Levantines
Italian noble families
Counts of Italy
European Sephardi Jews