Category: Art + Architecture

Eugenio Cardini was an immigrant from Piemonte, Italy who arrived in Buenos Aires around 1860. He eventually founded a factory which produced iron bedframes. Other types of furniture were made as well, & his market was mainly other immigrants… those with less resources, not the upper class. In 1898, some 2,000 bedframes per month were produced! The source for this info is the online Diccionario Biográfico Italo-Argentino compiled by the Asociación Dante Alighieri in Buenos Aires.

The plaque mentions the “establishment” founded by Cardini & confirms his date of death as 08 Jan 1910:

Just as interesting, Art Nouveau architect Julián García Núñez designed this vault. While not as elaborate as some of his apartment buildings, it represents one of the few constructions in Recoleta Cemetery with elements of modernisme… the Catalán take on Art Nouveau. García Núñez also built the family’s vacation home in Mar del Plata, unfortunately demolished today. Cardini faces boxer Luis Ángel Firpo & unfortunately is often overlooked.

Update (10 Dec 2012): The great-granddaughter of Cardini discovered this post & provided a bit more info (see comments below). Cardini liked photography so much that he purchased a Lumière camera during a trip to France. A brief clip of Plaza de Mayo—that’s the Cabildo in the background—from 1902 is short but very sweet. Thanks, Louise!!

Like Art Nouveau? Learn about the architects of the era, their individual styles & what makes Art Nouveau in Buenos Aires so unique with a 33-page guide from our sister site, Endless Mile.

In spite of being on a major walkway, this discrete, Neo-Byzantine mausoleum is easy to dismiss… perhaps because there is no way to peer inside. The surrounding tombs capture our attention quicker. Most people move on, unaware of the beauty inside.

Mauro Herlitzka was one of many Italian professionals who made the move to Argentina at the end of the 19th century. Born in Trieste in 1871, he graduated from the University of Turin with a specialty in industrial/electrical engineering—a new & promising field at the time. Herlitzka then moved to Germany to work for Siemens & AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft), constructing a number of large electrical plants in Europe.

Arriving in Buenos Aires in 1897 as a rep for AEG, Herlitzka saw that the time was right to electrify Argentina. Although not the first electric company in the city, the CATE (Compañía Alemana Transatlántica de Electricidad, logo below) soon became the major provider… directed by Herlitzka. They negotiated a 50-year contract with the Buenos Aires city government & built an enormous complex in Dock Sud to provide for increased demand.

Herlitzka remained in Argentina for the rest of his life & became one of the country’s great industrial giants. Besides electricity, he developed telephone & telegraph lines for most of Argentina. Much of Herlitzka’s infrastructure survives today even though companies & holdings have changed hands several times since then. He passed away in 1960.

Herlitzka’s wealth funded the construction of this family vault & no expense was spared… probably why it isn’t openly visible to visitors. But if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s a way to get a look. Make sure no one is watching—you didn’t hear this from me—and blindly take some photographs through the hole above the door. It’s quite a reach, so don’t drop your camera inside!!! Or just look at thespectacular interior here:

The glass is supposedly from Murano & the tiles are gold leaf. No way to confirm that these days. But when the sun enters either in early morning or late afternoon, the interior is bathed in golden light. Definitely one of the most heavenly in the entire cemetery.

For more on the history of electricity in Buenos Aires from the perspective of the CATE’s largest competitor—the CIAE—I have researched & written a series of 11 posts on my other blog, Endless Mile.

Born in Trieste, Italy in 1888, Miguel Bencich already had experience in the construction business by the time he immigrated to Argentina in 1909. His brother, Massimiliano, arrived Buenos Aires the following year. Together they began the well-known construction company, Bencich Hermanos, in 1915.

The sheer amount of real estate developed by these brothers is staggering. One building even bears Miguel’s name… its large domes easily stand out along Diagonal Norte in downtown Buenos Aires:

Since the majority of tombs in Recoleta Cemetery are for families & not individuals, it seems odd that both Bencich brothers are not buried together. Miguel passed away first in 1965, then Massimiliano followed in 1972. Latin phrasing plus the company initials on Massimiliano’s tomb implies they would remain together for eternity. How Miguel became separated from his brother is a mystery: