Casarão da Vila Fortunata, Eclectic pavilion in Cerqueira César, Brazil.
Casarão da Vila Fortunata was a mansion on Avenida Paulista at the corner with Alameda Ministro Rocha Azevedo, built in 1903 in eclectic style. It was demolished in 1972; its remaining wooded grounds, kept because a clause in the sale deed prohibited clearing the grove, were listed by Conpresp in 1992 and now form Parque Prefeito Mario Covas.
Alexandre Honoré Marie Thiollier, owner of Casa Garroux, São Paulo's first bookstore, built the house in 1903 as a country retreat while the family lived downtown on Rua XV de Novembro. His son René Thiollier moved in after 1913 and hosted the meetings where the 1922 Modern Art Week was planned; he also rented the Teatro Municipal for it. The mansion was demolished in 1972, and the remaining woodland was listed by Condephaat and Conpresp in 1992.
The mansion served as a meeting point for artists like Mario de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, and Tarsila do Amaral during the 1920s. These gatherings became central to the development of modern Brazilian art and helped shape the cultural identity of the city.
The mansion was demolished in 1972; what remains is the wooded lot at Avenida Paulista 1919, at the corner with Alameda Ministro Rocha Azevedo, now the Parque Prefeito Mario Covas. The green area is open to the public, and the neighbouring Residência Joaquim Franco de Melo can be seen from the street. The site is a short walk from Consolação metro station.
The renowned landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx was born in this house in 1909 while it was being rented. This birth connected the property to one of the most influential figures in modern garden design.
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