Falabella Palace : Splendour for the Community
Located in the neighbourhood of Providencia, in the heart of Santiago, the Falabella palace is a gorgeous example of the elegant palaces and residential homes built in Chile before WWII, remnants of a wealthy society with clear European influence.
Of eclectic style, the palace combines Art-Deco elements with a clear Italian Renaissance inspiration, at image and resemblance of Florentine and Venetian palaces.
In its gardens one enjoys a rare air of tranquility in the midst of the din of a monstrous city such as Santiago, as if time had stopped at a moment when the world was more civilized, kinder, gentler.
Despite being nearly a century old, and its continuous use as headquarters of the municipality for over half a century, the palace looks almost as splendid as when it was created, between 1924-1930.
Although a good deal of its good shape is due to the quality of the materials used and the quality of its construction, the palace has kept almost intact thanks to careful restoration and maintenance works, as well as minimal interventions to its original structure or the green areas around it.
Originally, the plot where the palace is located today belonged to the famed Chilean architect Josué Smith Solar . Solar built his own home to one side of this plot, as a eclectic-style chalet, with the typical fantastic elements that characterised his work.
Just like the palace, the chalet is preserved almost intact from its original design until today, and holds the neighbour attention offices.
In 1924, Smith Solar decided to sell the property to the flourishing textiles merchant of Italian origin, Armando Falabella.
Falabella didn’t spare any expenses when building his family home, commanding its design to architect Guillermo Manselli Revoredo, who used brick and reinforced concrete ( the prime construction material at the time) in its structure, as well as marbles, bronzes, stained glass and fine woods in its interior.
As additional decoration to its facade, Manselli commanded tile murals to the artist of Italian origin Aristodemo Lattanzi, who had already worked in the decoration of the Basílica del Salvador, the Edwards palace and the Santiago Cathedral.
Faithful to its Renaissance influence, the tiles -some of which are gilded- portray figures of the Italian Renaissance, as well as gryphons and eagles.
In its interior, aside from its splendid reception hall, the palace holds several halls distributed in three levels.
On the first level, the “Salón de Hacienda” was originally used by the mistress of the house as her personal drawing room. The walls of this room present an ornate decor of carved woodwork and parquet floors, which echo in the gothic-style furniture.
The current “Sala de Concejo” (Council Hall) was originally used by the Falabella family as dinning room. Adjacent to it we find a ‘light terrace’, where the owners enjoyed the after-dinner or read during winter, due to its north light.
The “Salón de Protocolo” (Protocol Hall) was used by the family as music room or library. Notable are the stucco with motifs allusive to music, as wells as its Corinthian-style false pillars, which are repeated through the other rooms.
On the second level we find the private Hall of Mrs. Falabella and the family rooms, as well as access to the third level, where two ample terraces allow us to contemplate the surrounding city landscape on 360 degrees.
It is also noteworthy the oval stained glass, which bestows natural light to the interior of the palace, as well as the double height of its walls, which gives it a majestic character in spite of its small size.
The palace’s interior is full of fine ornamentation details which reflect the character of its original owners.
Aside from its stained glass, gargoyles, fantastic-design lamps and Ionic and Corinthian columns, two of the motifs that are repeated throughout the interior of the residence are the eagle and the fleur de lis, symbols chosen by Mrs. Falabella as her personal hallmarks.
In the underground we find the “Salón de Billar” (Billiards Room) or games room, its walls covered by fine-wood panels richly ornamented with lion heads, celtic braiding and floral motifs; and the “Salón Árabe” (Arabic Hall) due to the Islamic-style ornamentation of the wood panelling covering its walls.
Both rooms were of the exclusive use of Mr. Falabella ans his guests.
Dus to its central distribution on the lot, the palace is surrounded by green areas: an ample formal garden facing east, which today receives the name of “Plaza Centenario”, and a smaller formal garden in the back followed by long vines towards the west.
These areas are complemented by a central fountain in the main garden, a fountain with fishes in the chalet area, and two fountains in the vines area, as well as a small pool underneath the car entrance, today not in use.
Detail of one of the allegorical fountains
in the back gardens
During its time of highest splendor, the palace was the epicentre of elegant social gatherings, opening its doors as well to municipal events whenever they were required.
The Falabella family continued living in the family home until the economic crisis resulting from WWII made its keeping impossible. Thus, after leasing it for some time to the Mexican embassy, the family sold it to the entrepreneur Mario Cruzat, who in turn offered it for auction in 1946.
The mayor of Providencia at the time, Mr. Guillermo Martínez, attained it after a forceful bid, and transformed it into the consistorial building of the commune.
Nowadays, the palace continues to hold the main offices of the Providencia Municipality. However, its spaces are open to the orderly enjoyment of the community.
Day to day, all the days of the year, its main square welcomes neighbours who walk their dogs, parents who bring their children to play, or simply neighbours who sit in the benches to enjoy the afternoon and a quiet conversation.
Equally, the open grounds of the palace are setting to multiple free events organized by the municipality and open to all public, such as its traditional Antiques Fair, International Festival with representatives of the embassies in the commune, gastronomic festivals, Jazz presentations and other concerts.
During Christmas time, the palace often decks with colourful lights that illuminate its facade, carols and the traditional Christmas tree and life-size nativity scene.
In 1998, the Falabella Palace was declared National Historical Monument, being thus protected from changes to its structure, alterations to its character or the ever-present risk of demolition.
Nowadays there are few remnants of the residencies built in the golden age of Chilean architecture. Every year, dozens of family homes in the commune are destroyed to give way to residential and office buildings.
In this sense, the Falabella palace reminds us of a time foreign to today’s troubles, a calmer, more orderly society, perhaps less global or integrated, but with an elegance, tranquillity and splendour that will not come back again.
Despite its luxury and stateliness, the Falabella palace seeks to be an active hub of community meeting, sharing its beauty and splendour to the enjoyment of everyone.
Sources: Consejo Nacional de Monumentos, Providencia.cl/patrimonio, Book “Memoria del Patrimonio de Providencia - Palacio Falabella”.
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