Gold for the nostalgic souls
Some twenty or twenty five years ago, together with other journalists, I pleaded for an extremely useful book… The book finally comes out now, due to an Architect, Dan Manea, who is, as I found out, one of the best known architects within Prahova Valley region, a man who restored many things there… Anyway, we are talking of an album, “Sinaia. The City of the Elites”, which pictures almost 130 villas, together with their history. The buildings are larger or smaller and belonged to famous historical personalities like George Enescu, Iorga, Take Ionescu, I. G. Duca, Kogălniceanu, Simu, Boierescu, Slătineanu, Oteteleşanu, Romanov, Bibescu, Lascăr Catargiu, Boliac, Carol Davila, Urechia, Argentoian, Parhon, Caragiale, Nicolae Grigorescu, Alexandri, Grigore Alexandrescu, Vlahuţă, Coşbuc, Eminescu, Cincinat Pavelescu, Sadoveanu, Noica.
Here is virtually everything! History, administration, architecture, entrepreneurship, the Casino, Enescu’s villa in Cumpatu, Iorga’s villa where the Legionaries took from…
Here is a surprise for you. What does the book written by Mr. Architect include? There is this map! Pure gold for nostalgic souls… We have the whole city map. I can picture myself and my wife walking on all streets, on Aosta, on Carol Boulevard, in order to decipher the locations of these villas and houses, and to talk about them further on. There is the map on the back and – here we go! – the huge poster on the front, with 127 houses pictured from a city which is the city of our youth, our adult age and our old age. A truly royal city!
Read below the transcript of the whole broadcast.
The transcript of the broadcast:
Some twenty of twenty five years have passed by since, together with other brothers’ journalists, I pleaded for the appearance of an extremely useful book. Some two or three years ago I could see Andrei Pippidi able to coordinate such a book, and even under sumptuous circumstances, because I felt it was unacceptable for us to walk through Sinaia and find all sorts of villas (without knowing whom they belonged to – our note). A city where the whole high-life had its own villa since Carol the First built Peles Castle. And, finally, due to a certain mister architect, Dan Manea, whom I found is one of the best known architects within Prahova Valley region, a man who restored many things in that place, a man whose face tells me is aged around 40, the book is published. It is anyway an album called “Sinaia-Oraşul Elitelor”, where almost 130 villas are shown, together with their history. They are larger or smaller houses that belonged, and listen carefully, to some of the local personalities: George Enescu, Iorga, Take Ionescu, I. G. Duca, Kogălniceanu, Simu, Boierescu, Slătineanu, Oteteleşanu, Romanov, Bibescu, Lascăr Catargiu, Boliac, Carol Davila, Urechia, Argentoian, Parhon, Caragiale, Nicolae Grigorescu, Alexandri, Grigore Alexandrescu, Vlahuţă, Coşbuc, Eminescu, Cincinat Pavelescu, Sadoveanu, Noica. Everybody came through this place.
Architect Dan Manea’s book has a foreword signed by Vlad Oprea, the city mayor, by Academician Constantin Balaceanu – Stolnici, whose memories substantially fuel the book, and by Adrian Majuru, manager of the Bucharest City Museum.
Here is virtually everything! History, administration, architecture, entrepreneurship, the Casino, Enescu’s villa in Cumpatu, Iorga’s villa where the Legionaries took from…
Did you know that some two months ago memories of Mrs. Procopiu were published? She was one of Queen Maria’s ladies of honour from 1914 until 1938. When… I stumbled on Caprita villa. Caprita?! Caprita?! Many thoughts were whirling into my mind… I saw that villa! But I saw all those villas with female names: Matilda, Nuti, etc. And up there, on Furnica heights, I stumbled exactly upon Mrs. Procopiu’s villa. So now I will surprise you… What lies inside the book published by Mr. Architect?
There is this map! Pure gold for nostalgic souls, gold for… We have the whole city map. I can picture myself and my wife walking on all streets, on Aosta, on Carol Boulevard, in order to decipher the locations of these villas and houses, and to talk about them further on. There is the map on the back and – here we go! – the huge poster on the front, with 127 houses pictured from a city which is the city of our youth, our adult age and our old age. A truly royal city! Even if today it is dusted and withered. However the nostalgia inside us and our desire for an ideal world have no limits and no age.