Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Hotel Torino, Massawa

Hotel Torino, Massawa

Is the Hotel Torino in Massawa an Art Deco building?

I've seen in Eritrea by Edward Denison & Edward Paice that it was constructed in the late 1930s so from that point of view it sits firmly in the interwar period when, as the name suggests, the Italians occupied the area.

The shape of the windows, however, look back to an earlier time perhaps when the town was part of the Ottoman Empire. Yet to my eye the decoration has been simplified and stripped back to its basic form.

The curved facade, sitting on a prominent corner site, is a common streamline feature and with conventional windows I think the building could easily fall into that category of architecture.

What do others think?

3 comments:

  1. Has anybody ever stayed at this hotel? I wanted to visit Eritrea but cant find anyplace to stay thru the web.

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