bg Varna

Ange Marie Duroni House

- Primorski Boulevard 67 -
The residential building was built in 1867 for the Spanish merchant and diplomat, Ange Marie Duroni. He was born in Spain, but he later left his country for economic reasons and settled in southern France. In 1849 he married Marie Louise Sophie Castan and moved to , where he was engaged in trade. In 1867 he moved to Varna and served as Spanish consul in the city.
Ange Marie Duroni
He built a large stone house, which served both as a trading office and as a Spanish legation. Two years before his death in 1902, he went bankrupt and left his son a mortgaged property and a trading house with debts. The building was upgraded in 1912 by a project of the Bulgarian architect .
The building in 1920
After the death of Ange, his son Jean Duroni was elected Consul of Spain. Subsequently, the post was inherited by his son, Paul Jean Duroni, in 1931. The Representation of the Kingdom of Spain in Varna existed until 1939. Then a note was sent by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Bulgarian government. It announced that Paul Jean Duroni's activities were being terminated because he was defending the interests of the Spanish Republic, not the King.
Jean Duroni
On top of the beautiful Art Nouveau building, you'll see a of what looks like a joker. A is attached to this mascaron and ends on both sides with an foliage. Underneath the mascaron there's a , which is surrounded by floral ornamentation. The facade of the building also features two . Above most of the windows on the second and first floor, you'll see a decorative shell surrounded by some floral ornamentation. The same counts for the huge shield shaped cartouche just above the main entrance door. The balcony in the center of the building is secured with a wrought iron railing and is supported by two supportive wrought iron . The wrought iron barred windows of the main entrance door have the same design as the balcony railing and the two corbels.
An old photo shows the building