Name of Object:

Villa Maria, in Tunis, the mansion of Luigi Rey, the son of a migrant from Piedmont (Italy)

Name in original language:

Villa Maria del cav. Luigi Rey, imprenditore

Location:

Rome, Italy

Holding Institution:

Italian Geographical Society (SGI)

 About Italian Geographical Society (SGI), Rome

Holding Institution (original language):

Società Geografica Italiana (SGI)

Date of Object:

Photograph: first years of the 20th century; building: late 19th century

Description:

Luigi Rey was the son of Italian immigrants Giuseppe Rey (1808-1897), of Piedmont and Adelaide Baldacci, of Tuscany. In 1836, Giuseppe Rey was dispatched to Tunis by his employer, a construction company from Genoa, to work in the Bardo Palace (the official residence of the Bey of Tunis). After completing the contract Giuseppe decided to stay in Tunisia, where he continued to work at the service of the Bey. Together with his three children (Luigi, Antonio and Pio), Giuseppe Rey set up a construction company that continued after his death. Predominantly with his brothers but at times on his own, Luigi Rey built a variety of private and public edifices, including the Tunisia Palace Hotel (designed by architect Resplandy).

Archival or Bibliographical Reference:

Comitato della Camera italiana di commercio ed arti, Gli italiani in Tunisia, Tunis, 1906, p. 44

Citation of this web page:

Giulia Barrera "Villa Maria, in Tunis, the mansion of Luigi Rey, the son of a migrant from Piedmont (Italy)" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;it;99;en

Prepared by: Giulia Barrera
Copyedited by: Anne Dowell

MWNF Working Number: IT1 099