One of the most important buildings in Tarabya is the Italian ambassador’s summer residence, designed in 1905 by Raimondo D’Aronco, and seen here on the left in Jürgen Franks 2002 photograph. D’Aronco combined Palladian style and vernacular details in a charming wooden building – now falling into disrepair.

In his article in Cornucopia 46, D’Aronco: Architect to a New Society, Paolo Girardelli writes: ‘Raimondo D’Aronco’s most remarkable tribute to his Italian homeland remains one of the most artistically accomplished landmarks beside the Bosphorus, though its glory is fading fast. In 1905 he submitted his designs for the reconstruction of the Italian summer embassy in Tarabya, close to the French residence on the European shore (the red house on the right). This was a low-budget project: the Italian construction firm Seminati, who built it, agreed to be paid only with the proceeds from the sale of materials from the previous embassy building.’