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 Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

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

featuring the characteristics of the

mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

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, ma ...

decoration and polichrome tiles. The building tops off with a

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

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