Pierre Pagy Mansion
Built by Fondan d'Escalon, who settled in Bornova after the French Revolution, the Pierre Pagy Mansion passed through the La Fontaine, Whittall, and Giraud families to the Pagy Family through marriage and property transfers. Currently owned by the Fercken and Arkas families, descendants of Pagy, the mansion is an elegant representative of French Levantine heritage in Bornova.
Introduction
The Pierre Pagy Mansion is one of the most characteristic buildings illuminating Bornova's French Levantine heritage. The mansion was built by Fondan d'Escalon, who settled in İzmir in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
The d'Escalon family were among the pioneers of the early Levantine settlements in Bornova, and this mansion is one of the oldest examples of French-influenced residential architecture in the district.
The Pagy Family and Bornova's French Levantine History
The Pagys are one of İzmir's oldest French Levantine families.
- The family's first arrival in İzmir dates to the early 1700s,
- to Sieur Gabriel Pagy, sent from Marseilles for commercial investigations.
Pierre Pagy, of the 19th-century generation of the family, was one of the leading merchants engaged in the cotton trade in İzmir.
Pierre Pagy purchased this mansion in Bornova on the occasion of his marriage to Marguerite Aliotti, daughter of Count Aliotti.
Today the building is in the joint ownership of Pierre Pagy's grandchildren, the Fercken and Arkas families.
The mansion is therefore symbolised in the Bornova Miras project by the Arkas Logo.
Architectural Features
The mansion bears the direct marks of French Levantine architecture:
Exterior
- Stone ground floor + brick upper floor
- Symmetrical façade arrangement
- A broad central hall
- Elegantly proportioned window openings
- Restrained French-influenced façade composition
Garden
- Mediterranean plants and shrub groupings
- A layout reflecting the French landscape approach
- Inner courtyard character reflecting the d'Escalon–Pagy family culture
Interior
- Plaster ceiling ornamentation
- Cast-iron architectural details
- Room arrangement characteristic of Levantine residential culture
Historical and Cultural Significance
The Pierre Pagy Mansion:
- Is a tangible example of French Levantine life in Bornova.
- Is one of the rare surviving representatives of the late 18th-century Levantine settlement model.
- Carries an unbroken family legacy through the Pagy–Arkas lineage.
- Documents the social life, cotton trade and Levantine elite culture of the district.
Photo Gallery
Location Info
Category
Mansions
83 Sokak civarı, Bornova Merkez, İzmir
Built by Fondan d'Escalon, who settled in Bornova after the French Revolution, the Pierre Pagy Mansion passed through the La Fontaine, Whittall, and Giraud families to the Pagy Family through marriage and property transfers. Currently owned by the Fercken and Arkas families, descendants of Pagy, the mansion is an elegant representative of French Levantine heritage in Bornova.
