Francisco Salamone (June 5, 1897August 8, 1959) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

architect of Italian descent who, between 1936 and 1940, during the

Infamous Decade The Infamous Decade () was a period in Argentinian history that began with the 1930 coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen. This decade was marked on one hand by significant rural exodus, with many small rural landowners ruined by ...

, built more than 60 municipal buildings with elements of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style in 25 rural communities on the Argentine

Pampas The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

within the

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. These buildings were some of the first examples of modern architecture in rural Argentina.

Life

Salamone's was born in the town of

Leonforte Leonforte (''Liunforti'' in sicilian) is an Italian ''comune'' with a population of 14,046 in the Province of Enna, Sicily. The town is situated 22 km from Enna, in the centre of the Erean Mountains at 600 metres a.s.l. History The ancie ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1897, son of Salvatore Salamone and Antonia D'Anna. After leaving the

Otto Krause Technical School The Escuela Técnica Otto Krause is an educational institution located at the intersection of Paseo Colón Avenue and Chile Street, in the San Telmo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Named after its founder, the engineer Otto Krause, son of Germa ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

he continued his studies in the

National University of Córdoba The National University of Córdoba ( es, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,) is an institution of higher education in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of t ...

where he graduated in 1917 with a degree in architecture and civil engineering. Salamone married Adolfina Croft, the daughter of the Austria-Hungarian Vice-consul in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, with whom he had four children: Ricardo, Roberto, Ana Maria and Stella Maris. During Manuel Fresco's term, a conservative politician who was governor of the Province of Buenos Aires during the period 1936-1940, Salamone built more than 70 municipal buildings. His designs were a notable and very personal combination of

functionalism,

Italian Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

on a vast scale. The use of reinforced concrete made it possible to construct buildings to a height that at that time made them symbols of municipal power and authority. The rural towns in which Salamone's buildings appeared were either frontier towns, built at the end of the nineteenth century on the edge of Indian territory, or were situated at regular intervals along newly built rail links. These towns were named after the colonels and generals who led the

Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primari ...

and engineers who pioneered the building of the railways in this part of the Province. In the 1950s, Salamone designed several condominiums in Rationist style. He died on 8 August 1959, relatively forgotten, but leaving behind him a monumental architectural inheritance on the Argentine pampas. He was buried in

Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, ...

and later transferred to Cemetery Jardin de Paz.

Buildings

Salamone's work comprised three types of municipal buildings: *Town Halls: these are characterised by their massive proportions and high tower, taller than the local church tower, to symbolise the advance of civilisation over the Pampas and recalled both the medieval ''palazzi comunali'' and the designs of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's Italy. These buildings were clearly intended to be the centre of urban life. Examples are to be found in Carlos Pellegrini, Alberti,

Carhué Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires. The city is a tourist destination famous for the thermal ...

, Guamini, Adolfo Alsina,

Laprida Laprida is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for Laprida Partido. Attractions *Museo Archivo Histórico Hugo H. Diez (Hugo Diez Museum & Historical archive) *Laguna El Paraíso, lake, located 4 k ...

, Rauch, Balcarce, Tornquist, Puán, Chillar, Saldungaray, Gonzales Chaves and

Coronel Pringles Coronel Pringles () is a city in the south of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, situated near the mountains of Pillahuincó. It is the government seat of the Coronel Pringles Partido. In 1882, the provincial government of Buenos Aires Pro ...

. *Cemetery Portals: these were also characterised by their massive proportions. Examples can be found in Saldungaray, Laprida,

Azul Azul, meaning "blue" in Spanish and Portuguese, may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Azul'' (Los Piojos album), 1998 * ''Azul'' (Cristian Castro album), 2001 * Azul Azul, a Bolivian pop-dance music group ** "Azul" (song), the title song * " ...

Salliqueló Salliqueló is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative headquarters for Salliqueló Partido Salliqueló Partido is a Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivisi ...

and Balcarce. *Slaughterhouses: these are functional in design, on the outskirts of towns, and have become obsolete with the introduction of modern butchery techniques and the advent of cold-storage plants. Examples can be found in

Tres Lomas Tres Lomas is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Tres Lomas Partido Tres Lomas Partido is a western partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 7,500 in ...

, Balcarce, Carhué,

Guaminí Guaminí is the capital of Guaminí Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. History The area was first occupied by Europeans during the Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine mi ...

, Coronel Pringles (whose tower is in the form of the blade of a knife),

, Laprida, Vedia, Villa Epecuén, Salliqueló, Chillar and Carlos Pelegrini.

Works

City halls

Municipalidad Gonzalez Chávez.jpg,

Adolfo Gonzales Chaves Adolfo Gonzales Chaves is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Adolfo Gonzales Chaves Partido. History * 1886 The opening of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway line between Tandil and Tres Arroyos saw th ...

city hall Palacio Municipal de Carhué.JPG,

city hall Municipalidad de Pringles (3).JPG,

city hall Palacio Municipal Guaminí 1x1.jpg,

city hall Municipalidad de Pellegrini.jpg,

Pellegrini Pellegrini may refer to: People * Pellegrini (surname), an Italian surname Cities * Carlos Pellegrini, Santa Fe, a city in Santa Fe Province, Argentina *Pellegrini, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Fish *'' Labeo pellegrin ...

city hall Palacio Municipal de Rauch.JPG, Rauch city hall

Slaughterhouses

Ex-Matadero Municipal de Azul.JPG,

slaughterhouse Matadero Municipal de Coronel Pringles (2).JPG, Coronel Pringles slaughterhouse Matadero Guamini 2x3.jpg, Guaminí slaughterhouse Matadero de Guaminí, interior.jpg, Guaminí slaughterhouse inside Matadero Municipal de Villa Epecuén 1x1.jpg,

Villa Epecuén Villa Epecuén was a tourist village in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on the eastern shore of Laguna Epecuén, about north of the city of Carhué. Developed in the early 1920s, Epecuén was accessible from Buenos Aires by train. The Sarmient ...

slaughterhouse

Cemetery portals

AzulCementerio.jpg, Azul cemetery Portada del cementerio de Azul - Pcia de Buenos Aires.JPG, Angel in the Azul cemetery Laprida Cemetery Facade 04.JPG,

cemetery Saldungaray Portal Cementerio.jpg, Saldungaray cemetery

References

*Alberto Bellucci, ''Monumental Art Deco in the Pampas: The Urban Art of Francisco Salamone'', J. Decorative & Propaganda Arts, Argentine Theme Issue, 1992.
Photos and opinions
by Leandro Aguirre *Tom Shaw & Edward Shaw, ''Salamone, La Consagración. Monumental Art Deco En Las Pampas 1997-2007'', El Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires, 2007.

External links

Francisco Salamone RepositoryOfficial Bio Film Mundo Salamone (by Ezequiel Hilbert)Official Salamone MusicPhoto gallery featuring Salamone's buildingswith documentaries about Francisco SalamoneDocumentary film "Las minas del rey Salamone" (in Spanish)Documentary film "Salamone Superstar" (in Spanish)France/isco Salamone Fausto Giovannardi (in italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salamone, Francisco 1897 births 1959 deaths People from the Province of Enna Italian emigrants to Argentina Architects from Buenos Aires 20th-century Argentine engineers Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Argentine civil engineers