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{{Infobox NRHP
{{Infobox nrhp
| name = Casa Paoli
| name = Casa Paoli
| nrhp_type =
| nrhp_type =
| image =CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic2 MainFacade.jpg
| image =CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic2 MainFacade.jpg
| caption =Main facade, in July 2009
| caption =Main facade, in July 2009
Line 9: Line 9:
| coord_display = inline,title
| coord_display = inline,title
| locmapin = Puerto Rico
| locmapin = Puerto Rico
| area = <{{convert|1|acre}}<ref name=nrhpreg />
| area = <{{convert|1|acre}}<ref name=nrhpreg/>
| built = by 1874
| built = by 1874
| architect = [[Manuel V. Domenech]] (1914 intervention)
| architect = [[Manuel V. Domenech]] (1914 intervention)
| architecture = [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]]
| architecture = [[neoclassical]]
| added = October 1, 2009<ref name="newlistings2009oct09">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20091002.htm |title=Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places |date=October 9, 2009 |accessdate=October 16, 2009 |work=Weekly Listings |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
| added = October 1, 2009<ref name="newlistings2009oct09">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20091002.htm |title=Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places |date=October 9, 2009 |accessdate=October 16, 2009 |work=Weekly Listings |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
| governing_body = Private
| governing_body = Private
| refnum = 09000769<ref name="newlistings2009oct09" />
| refnum = 09000769<ref name="newlistings2009oct09"/>
}}
}}
'''Casa Paoli''' (English: Paoli House) on Mayor Street, [[Ponce, Puerto Rico]], is nationally significant as the birthplace of [[Antonio Paoli|Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano]] (1871–1946), a [[tenor]] who was the "first [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] to reach international recognition in the performing arts" and one of the most outstanding [[opera]] singers of all time. Paoli was introduced to art and opera at this house during his formative years. Casa Paoli is currently used as a museum to honor the career of Antonio Paoli.
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Paoli's parents weren't married until after they'd had five children together. They were married at the [[Ponce Cathedral]]. The house was a wedding gift. Three more children were born to the couple, in the house, including Antonio, their seventh.<ref name=nrhpreg/>
{{Copyviocore
|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf (see talk)
|month = September
|day = 8
|year = 2010
|time = 13:34
|timestamp = 20100908133407}}
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'''Casa Paoli''' (English: Paoli House) on Mayor Street, [[Ponce, Puerto Rico]], is nationally significant as the birthplace of [[Antonio Paoli|Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano]] (1871–1946), a [[tenor]] who was the "first [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] to reach international recognition in the performing arts" and one of the most outstanding [[opera]] singers of all times. Paoli was introduced to art and opera at this house during his formative years. Casa Paoli is currently used as a museum to honor the career of Antonio Paoli. The building was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 1, 2009.<ref name="nrhpreg">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Casa Paoli |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]] |date=August 11, 2009 |author=Juan Llanes Santos |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=October 16, 2009}} (19 pages, with maps and b&w historic photos and 5 recent color photos)</ref><ref name="nris">{{cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=16 October 2009|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf Casa Paoli at NRHP]</ref> The listing was announced as the featured listing in the [[National Park Service]]'s weekly list of October 9, 2009.<ref name="featured">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/nrlist.htm |title=Weekly List Actions |accessdate=October 16, 2009 |work= |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>


⚫
==Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research==
⚫
Paoli's parents were not married until after they have had five children together. They were married at the [[Ponce Cathedral]]. The house was a wedding gift. Three more children were born to the couple in the house, including Antonio, their seventh.<ref name=nrhpreg />
⚫
Today Casa Paoli functions as a research center on Puerto Rican culture. The building is the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research.<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Casa Paoli – Honoring the Tenor of the Kings]</ref> The Center’s mission is to foster Puerto Rico’s cultural traditions as well as popular arts. The Center purchased the property in 1987 from Antonio Penna Salicrup and his family. This is where the great tenor Antonio Paoli was born and raised. The Center preserves the history of this great lyrical singer and his outstanding family.<ref>[http://casapaoli.org/ CasaPaoli.org]</ref>


==Significance==
==Construction==
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The architectural style is described as [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-classical]] with other 20th century elements.<ref name="nps.gov">[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf US Dept of the Interior, National Park Service. NRHP Registration Form. Casa Paoli. 2009-08-11.]</ref> The house was built as a wooden structure before 1864, when it was acquired by Domingo Paoli, the father of Antonio Paoli. By 1870, the house had been upgraded into a wood and brick masonry residence. In [[1914]] it was upgraded into the current brick and stucco structure by the prominent local architect and civil engineer [[Manuel V. Domenech]].<ref name="nps.gov"/>
Casa Paoli is of national significance as the property is the birthplace of Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano (1871–1946), recognized as the greatest tenor born in Puerto Rico and one of the most outstanding opera singers of all times. Antonio Paoli, the Tenor of Kings and King of Tenors, was considered by many, at the height of his performing abilities, to have one of the most lyric and powerful voice in the highly competitive world of the opera, superior even to his contemporary rival, [[Enrico Caruso]].<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 5">Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 5. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref>

Casa Paoli is the birthplace of a historical figure, not just significant in Puerto Rico’s past, but one of nationwide outstanding importance upheld by Paoli's great personal accomplishments. As such, Casa Paoli is also of national significance as the birthplace, and only extant associative property, of the greatest tenor born in Puerto Rico and one of the greatest opera singers that ever lived, whose title of "Tenor of Kings and King of Tenors" is undoubted deserved.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 9">Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 9. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref>

==History of the house==
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[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic3 InteriorRoomWoodenFloors.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Interior rooms, wooden floors]]
Casa Paoli, as we know it today, is the result of an intervention done by Civil Engineer, [[Manuel V. Domenech]]. In 1914, Domenech was contracted by the house owner, Julio Salicrup y Armstrong, to make changes and additions to the house. At the time, the house was a one story, brick masonry house. Salicrup acquired the residence from Gustavo Newman y Negron, who bought it in 1908, from Libertad Torres Grau. Torres Grau was the husband of Aida Braschi y Paoli, niece of Antonio Paoli, and daughter of Olivia Paoli, Antonio's sister. The Paoli family acquired the house in 1864. At the time, the residence was a single wooden dwelling. By 1870, Domingo Paoli (Antonio Paoli's father) inscribed the house as a two-story brick masonry and wooden building. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the property was appropriated by the government because the Paoli Succession was many years behind on their taxes. The house was described at the time as a two level house: a lower brick masonry level and an upper wooden level. The upper lever was described as "in a ruin state". Apparently, the wooden upper level was demolished between the time of Grau Torres or Newman y Negron's ownership, as it was not longer mentioned by the time Salicrup acquired the property. The 1914 Domenech's blue print shows that the only change to the original brick masonry house was done at the frontal facade.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 3">Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 3. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref>


==Architecture==
==Architecture==
[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic1 WoodenCeiling.jpg|thumb|left|Interior showing wooden ceiling]]
⚫
The architectural style is described as [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-classical]] with other 20th century elements.<ref name="nps.gov">[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf US Dept of the Interior, National Park Service. NRHP Registration Form. Casa Paoli. 11 August 2009]</ref> The house was built as a wooden structure before 1864, when it was acquired by Domingo Paoli, the father of Antonio Paoli. By 1870, the house had been upgraded into a wood and brick masonry residence. In [[1914]] it was upgraded into the current brick and stucco structure by the prominent local architect and civil engineer Manuel V. Domenech.<ref name="nps.gov" />
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The front facade of the residence consists of eye-catching peach and white brick masonry and stucco front porch with a main arched balcony crowned by a female face. A second, smaller, arched entrance is the main entryway into the porch and house. Early 1900s ironworks gracefully separate the front porch from the front street sidewalk. The front doors of the house are wooden louvered characteristic of the middle-to-late 19th century. A circular front wall wind hole with decorative molding accentuates the porch; another smaller circular opening decorates high above the archway into the porch. The interior consists of nine rooms, a long, sunny, lateral hallway with multiple wooden veneer shutters, and an external cobble-stone foyer leading to the back courtyard.<ref name="Virtual Tour">[http://casapaoli.org/recorrido_virtual.htm Virtual Tour]</ref>


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==Museum==
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The front facade of the residence consists of eye-catching peach and white brick masonry and stucco front porch with a main arched balcony crowned by a female face. A second, smaller, arched entrance is the main entryway into the porch and house. Early 1900s ironworks separate the front porch from the front street sidewalk. The front doors of the house are wooden louvered characteristic of the middle-to-late 19th century. A circular front wall wind hole with decorative molding accentuates the porch; another smaller circular opening decorates high above the archway into the porch. The interior consists of nine rooms, a long, sunny, lateral hallway with multiple wooden veneer shutters, and an external cobble-stone foyer leading to the back courtyard.<ref name="Virtual Tour">[http://casapaoli.org/recorrido_virtual.htm Virtual Tour]</ref>
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[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic4 Gallery.jpg|left|thumb|Gallery]]

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The museum consists of three spacious exposition rooms where photographs, correspondence in the form of post cards, etc, and other memorabilia are displayed.<ref name="Virtual Tour"/> Among the offerings of this museum is a shop displaying colorful papier-mache masks used in Ponce's annual Carnival celebrations. The current museum exhibits documents and other [[memorabilia]] from the life of this well respected singer, along with examples of [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] art and a history of the city of Ponce.
===Architectural intervention of 1914===
In early twentieth century the building was structurally intervened resulting in the loss of the wooden-second level, described in a 1904 document as "in a ruin state". As local ordinances, since 1894 until 1918, prohibited the construction of wooden residences within [[Ponce Historic Zone|Ponce's urban core]], the second plant wooden-level was not rebuilt. It is documented that the 1870s brick masonry building survived into the twentieth century and became the essential plan for Manuel Domenech's 1914 design. Domenech's changes to the nineteenth century residence consisted mainly in the addition of the balcony and the exterior facade properly aligned with the balcony. Interior spaces are intact, with spatial arrangements the same as when the Paoli family occupied it. As such, even with the lost of the upper wooden-floor, the residence retains most features of all seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 9" />

==Physical appearance==
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[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic5 InteriorCourtyard.jpg|thumb|Interior courtyard]]
The structure is a brick masonry, one story, compounded L shaped plan, flat with parapet metal roofed building. It sits in a rectangular lot of 418 square meters. The residence itself, built in the late 19th century and remodeled during the early twentieth, is ten (10) meters wide and eighteen (18) meters in length. The exterior brick walls are covered with protective stucco.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 3" />

The main façade faces west to Mayor Street. Pilasters projecting only slightly from the wall divide the main façade in two sections. The smaller northern section delimits an off-center entrance to the porch. Directly across from the entrance gate there is a wooden door that connects to an enclosed ''zaguan'' (vestibule), currently used as a small museum store. The main section of the facade is symmetrically organized with two doors. The doors are double-sided with wooden shutters, crowned with identical wooden transoms that allow the entrance of natural light. Equally distanced between the double doors, slightly higher, there is a large wind-hole, framed with a decorative molding, which provides natural light to the inside. Originally, the wind-hole was covered with decorative wrought iron (still in place), that allowed for natural ventilation, but it is now is sealed with a glass from the inside (as the transoms) to prevent the escape of air-conditioner.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 3" />

The floor in the full-width porch is decorated with native hydraulic tiles. The porch has a protective metal balustrade elaborated in a decorative pattern, topped with a wooden hand-rail. The porch was formed through by way of an addition to the roof that extends it and creates an inset space. The external house wall that formed the inset porch, shaped in an arc, which protrude as the main external facade, was added around 1914 to the original brick masonry house, which didn't have a front porch. A decorative molding, featuring garlands and a female face surround by a marine shell, crowns the external wall on the main façade.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 4">Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 4. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref>

The inside, arranged in an L shaped compound plan, consist of nine room-sized units. The front four units sit at right angles from each other making a massed squared floor plan. The remaining five units are arranged in single file, adding the leg to the L shape volume. These five rooms are joined end-to-end, with internal openings existing between rooms. A long, linear and narrow gallery provides a passageway between rooms. The gallery is covered with an exposed half-gable wooden roof and is enclosed by wooden fixed-louver panels. There are wooden floors in the first four units, while the other five linear units have hydraulic tiles of different geometric motives. All the inside doors are double-sided louvered doors. Each door is crowned with a wooden transom. The ceilings are made of wooden planks, decorated with moldings. The covered gallery has three exits to access the inner courtyard. The ''zaguan'' can also be accessed from the two northern room units.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 4" />

The house keeps great integrity when compared to the earliest architectural plan by Manuel V. Domenech. Besides physical descriptions in official nineteenth century deeds, no graphic documents exist that date prior to Domenech's drawings. The intervention conducted around 1914 integrated the entire foundations and walls of the nineteen century residence."<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 4" />

When the property was acquired by the current owners in 1984, some rehabilitation was undertaken, mostly on the wooden components of the building. Deteriorated wooden planks were replaced in the roof and three inside wooden doors were removed and replaced with similar style louvered doors. In addition, all light fixtures and electrical riggings were replaced, adjusted to support new air-conditioning system installed.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 4" />


==Antonio Paoli==
==Antonio Paoli==
[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic1 WoodenCeiling.jpg|thumb|left|Interior showing wooden ceiling]]
[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic5 InteriorCourtyard.jpg|thumb|right|Interior courtyard]]
Antonio Paoli was known affectionately as both “The King of Tenors” and as “The Tenor of the Kings”. He was born in this house on April 14, 1871. From a young age, he would accompany his parents to opera performances at the [[La Perla Theater]], some six blocks from this house. An inspiring performance there by the Italian tenor, [[Pietro Baccei]] helped him decide what he wanted to be “when he grew up”. His parents nurtured his ambition by enrolling him in a voice training school. When Antonio was just 12 years old his parents died. Antonio moved to Spain to live with his sister, Amalia, who was also a singer. Amalia also encouraged her younger brother to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer.
===Paoli's parents===
<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Antonio Paoli's early years]</ref>
Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano was born in the city of [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] on April 14, 1871. He was the seventh of eight brothers and sisters procreated by Domingo Paoli Marcatentti, born in Corsica, and Amalia Marcano Intriago, who was originally from [[Isla Margarita]] in [[Venezuela]]. The couple met in [[Caracas]] and instantly fell in love, but because of class differences, Amalia's father, a rich landlord, was strongly opposed to the relationship. The young couple, breaking all class protocols and nineteenth century moral codes, escaped without getting married, first to the [[Dominican Republic]] and later to [[Puerto Rico]].<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 5" />

===The wedding gift===
In the island by the early 1850s, Domingo and Amalia established themselves in [[Yauco, Puerto Rico|Yauco]], but later moved to Ponce. Their first home in the southern city was a sugarcane farm, [[Hacienda Mercedita|Hacienda La Fe]], located on the banks of [[Río Portugués]]. After having their first five children, Domingo and Amalia got married at the [[Ponce Cathedral]] in 1864. As a wedding gift, Teresa Intriago, the bride's aunt, presented the couple with a house located at one of the main arteries in Ponce's urban core, Calle Mayor #14, the house today known as Casa Paoli. Another three children would be born at this new residence, including Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 6"> Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 6. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref> Antonio was born in this house on April 14, 1871.<ref name="Antonio Paoli's early years">[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Antonio Paoli's early years]</ref>

===Antonio Paoli's residences===
Antonio lived at 14 Mayor Street from birth until shortly after the death of both of his parents. The city of Ponce provided the ideal place for the initial cultural development of young Antonio Paoli. There he was exposed to a wide range of cultural and social activities. In particular with [[Teatro La Perla]] just one block from his home, Antonio did not have to leave his residence at 14 Mayor Street to find art. His sister [[Amalia Paoli|Amalia]], herself gave a few performances at Teatro La Perla. By 1878, however, the young Antonio had lost both of his parents and Amalia Paoli, although not the oldest, took full responsibility of her little brothers and sisters. In 1883, they move to [[Spain]] in search of a more promising future.<ref name="Antonio Paoli's early years"/> As for the house, after it fell many years in taxes, the government appropriated it in the early 1900s.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 6" />

The move to Spain was a god-sent and after experiencing a considerable amount of worldwide professional success as a singer from his new home base, first Spain and later France, Antonio moved back to Puerto Rico in 1923, settling in San Juan with his sister Amalia where she was then running a singing school. Antonio conducted a few performances after this, mostly in the [[Americas]], and in 1927, settled permanently with Amalia in San Juan.<ref>Juan Llanes Santos, Historian, and State Historic Preservation Officer, Certifying Officer. State Historic Preservation Office (San Juan, Puerto Rico). August 11, 2009. In ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Registration Form – Casa Paoli''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 8. Listing Reference Number 09000769. August 12, 2009.</ref>

Antonio Paoli resided at two addresses in San Juan the last 19 years of his life. The homes at both of those San Juan addresses have since been torn down, and are now occupied by modern buildings that have no association with Paoli's life. Thus, Antonio Paoli's house at #14 Mayor Street in Ponce is documented to be the only surviving property in Puerto Rico associated with the illustrious singer. Also quite significant is the fact that in people's mind, the house is the only property related to the great tenor, reflected in the popularly-given name to the residence, Casa Paoli. It is the place where Paoli was introduced to the arts and to [[opera]] in particular.<ref name="Juan Llanes Santos 2009. Page 9" /> Antonio died in 1946, and was initially buried in the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery of Isla Verde, [[Carolina, Puerto Rico]], but in 2005, his remains were exhumed and transferred to Ponce’s [[Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro|Roman Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon]].<ref>''La Perla del Sur'' news weekly, April 6–12, 2005.</ref>


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[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic3 InteriorRoomWoodenFloors.jpg|thumb|right|Interior rooms, wooden floors]]
==Today==
After studying at the [[El Escorial|Royal Monastery of El Escorial]] in [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], and the Academia de Canto La Scala in [[Milan]], [[Italy]], Paoli made his debut in Paris. Antonio Paoli went on to earn numerous honors and awards. He then returned to Puerto Rico in [[1917]]. Antonio and Amalia established a voice training school in San Juan. They also helped in theater productions at San Juan’s Municipal Theater. The San Juan Municipal Theater was renamed The Antonio Paoli Theater in his honor in 1934.<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Paoli's first professional years]</ref>
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===Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research===
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[[File:CasaPaoli JuanLlanesSantosPRSHPO pic4 Gallery.jpg|thumb|upright|Gallery]]
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Today Casa Paoli functions as a research center on Puerto Rican culture. The building is the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research.<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Casa Paoli – Honoring the Tenor of the Kings]</ref> The Center’s mission is to foster Puerto Rico’s cultural traditions as well as popular arts. The Center purchased the property in 1987 from Antonio Penna Salicrup and his family. This is where the great tenor Antonio Paoli was born and raised. The Center preserves the history of this great lyrical singer and his outstanding family.<ref>[http://casapaoli.org/ CasaPaoli.org]</ref>


Antonio died on August 24, 1946, and was buried in the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery of Isla Verde. On April 13, 2005, his remains were exhumed and transferred to Ponce’s [[Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro|Roman Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon]] <ref>“La Perla del Sur” news weekly, April 6–12, 2005.</ref> Antonio Paoli is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to achieve international fame in the musical arts. The museum at Casa Paoli gives visitors insight into the fascinating life story and achievements of Puerto Rico’s “Tenor of the Kings”.<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Tenor of the Kings]</ref>
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===Museum===
⚫
The museum consists of three spacious exposition rooms where photographs, correspondence in the form of post cards, etc, and other [[Souvenir|memorabilia]] are displayed.<ref name="Virtual Tour" /> Among the offerings of this museum is a shop displaying colorful papier-mache masks used in [[Carnaval de Ponce|Ponce's annual Carnival]] celebrations. The current museum exhibits documents and other memorabilia from the life of this well-respected singer, along with examples of [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] art and a history of the city of Ponce.


==National Register of Historic Places==
The museum at Casa Paoli gives visitors insight into the fascinating life story and achievements of Puerto Rico’s "Tenor of the Kings".<ref>[http://www.puertorico.com/blog/casa-paoli-honoring-the-tenor-of-the-kings Tenor of the Kings]</ref>
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The building was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 1, 2009.<ref name="nrhpreg">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Casa Paoli |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]] |date=August 11, 2009 |author=Juan Llanes Santos |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=October 16, 2009}} (19 pages, with maps and b&w historic photos and 5 recent color photos)</ref><ref name="nris">{{cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2009-10-16|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/CasaPaoli.pdf Casa Paoli at NRHP]</ref> The listing was announced as the featured listing in the [[National Park Service]]'s weekly list of October 9, 2009.<ref name="featured">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/nrlist.htm |title=Weekly List Actions |accessdate=October 16, 2009 |work= |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Puerto Rico}}
{{portal|Puerto Rico|Flag_of_Puerto_Rico.svg}}
*[[Antonio Paoli]]
*[[Antonio Paoli]]
*[[Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico]]
* [[Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Puerto Rico]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Puerto Rico]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==Bibliography==
==External links==
{{Puerto Rico portal}}
* [[Manuel V. Domenech]]'s blue prints are located at Archivo Historico de Ponce, Plano 22-1914. To trace the background of the property during the twentieth century refer to: Registro de la Propiedad, Ponce 1: Tomo 145, Finca, 6467, Folio 61/ Tomo 145, Finca 6466, Folio 57/ Tomo 145, Folio 202, Finca, 6496/ Tomo 183, Finca 4696, Folio 194 / Tomo 632, Finca 6496, Folio 248 / Tomo 391, Finca 6496, Folio 113 / Tomo 433, Finca 6496, Folio 158 / Tomo 688, Finca 6496, Folio 212. To trace property development and ownership from mid nineteenth to the beginning of twentieth Century refer to: Archivo General de Puerto Rico (AGPR): Protocolos Notariales, Ponce, 97-6-2334, 96-J-2208/ Protocolos Notariales, Ponce, Afio: 1872, Caja 2359.
* Emilio J. Pasarell. Origenes y desarrollo de la aficion teatral en Puerto Rico. Santurce: Editorial del Departamento de Instruccion Publica, 1970.
* Jesus M. Lopez. Antonio Paoli: "El Leon de Ponce". Waterbury, CT: Ediciones Liricas Puertorriquenas, 1997.
* Jorge Martinez Sola, Antonio Paoli: el Tenor Puertorriqueno. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena, 2003.
* Archivo General de Puerto Rico
* Protocolos Notariales, Ponce, 97-6-2334 / 96-J-2208 Protocolos Notariales, Ponce, Arlo: 1872, Caja 2359
* Archivo Historiico de Ponce, Plano 22-1914
* Registro de la Propiedad (Registry of the Property), Ponce 1
** Tomo 145, Finca 6467, Folio 61
** Tomo 145, Finca 6466, Folio 57
** Tomo 145, Finca 6496, Folio 202
** Tomo 183, Finca 4696, Folio 194
** Tomo 632, Finca 6496, Folio 248
** Tomo 391, Finca 6496, Folio 113
** Tomo 688, Finca 6496, Folio 212
* Martinez Solk Jorge. Antonio Paoli, el Tenor Puertorriqueno. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena, 2003.
* El Nuevo Dia, 16 de septiembre de 1990, p.&nbsp;79.
* Notisur, 24 de junio de 1998, p.&nbsp;4
* La Perla del Sur, 7 de diciembre de 1991, p.&nbsp;10
* La Perla del Sur, 30 de agosto de 1988, p.&nbsp;7.
* El Vocero, 9 de abril de 2005, p. E-5.
* El Mundo, 28 de octubre de 1990, p.&nbsp;4
* Domingo Paoli (Antonio's father) died on March 21, 1876, and Amalia Paoli (Antonio's mother) on October 20, 1878.


{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

Revision as of 19:47, 12 September 2010

Casa Paoli
Main facade, in July 2009
Casa Paoli is located in Puerto Rico
Casa Paoli
Location14 Mayor Street, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Area<1 acre (0.40 ha)[2]
Builtby 1874
ArchitectManuel V. Domenech (1914 intervention)
Architectural styleneoclassical
NRHP reference No.09000769[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 1, 2009[1]

Casa Paoli (English: Paoli House) on Mayor Street, Ponce, Puerto Rico, is nationally significant as the birthplace of Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano (1871–1946), a tenor who was the "first Puerto Rican to reach international recognition in the performing arts" and one of the most outstanding opera singers of all time. Paoli was introduced to art and opera at this house during his formative years. Casa Paoli is currently used as a museum to honor the career of Antonio Paoli.

Paoli's parents weren't married until after they'd had five children together. They were married at the Ponce Cathedral. The house was a wedding gift. Three more children were born to the couple, in the house, including Antonio, their seventh.[2]

Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research

Today Casa Paoli functions as a research center on Puerto Rican culture. The building is the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Center for Folkloric Research.[3] The Center’s mission is to foster Puerto Rico’s cultural traditions as well as popular arts. The Center purchased the property in 1987 from Antonio Penna Salicrup and his family. This is where the great tenor Antonio Paoli was born and raised. The Center preserves the history of this great lyrical singer and his outstanding family.[4]

Construction

The architectural style is described as Neo-classical with other 20th century elements.[5] The house was built as a wooden structure before 1864, when it was acquired by Domingo Paoli, the father of Antonio Paoli. By 1870, the house had been upgraded into a wood and brick masonry residence. In 1914 it was upgraded into the current brick and stucco structure by the prominent local architect and civil engineer Manuel V. Domenech.[5]

Architecture

Interior showing wooden ceiling

The front facade of the residence consists of eye-catching peach and white brick masonry and stucco front porch with a main arched balcony crowned by a female face. A second, smaller, arched entrance is the main entryway into the porch and house. Early 1900s ironworks gracefully separate the front porch from the front street sidewalk. The front doors of the house are wooden louvered characteristic of the middle-to-late 19th century. A circular front wall wind hole with decorative molding accentuates the porch; another smaller circular opening decorates high above the archway into the porch. The interior consists of nine rooms, a long, sunny, lateral hallway with multiple wooden veneer shutters, and an external cobble-stone foyer leading to the back courtyard.[6]

Museum

Gallery

The museum consists of three spacious exposition rooms where photographs, correspondence in the form of post cards, etc, and other memorabilia are displayed.[6] Among the offerings of this museum is a shop displaying colorful papier-mache masks used in Ponce's annual Carnival celebrations. The current museum exhibits documents and other memorabilia from the life of this well respected singer, along with examples of Puerto Rican art and a history of the city of Ponce.

Antonio Paoli

Interior courtyard

Antonio Paoli was known affectionately as both “The King of Tenors” and as “The Tenor of the Kings”. He was born in this house on April 14, 1871. From a young age, he would accompany his parents to opera performances at the La Perla Theater, some six blocks from this house. An inspiring performance there by the Italian tenor, Pietro Baccei helped him decide what he wanted to be “when he grew up”. His parents nurtured his ambition by enrolling him in a voice training school. When Antonio was just 12 years old his parents died. Antonio moved to Spain to live with his sister, Amalia, who was also a singer. Amalia also encouraged her younger brother to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer. [7]

Interior rooms, wooden floors

After studying at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial in Madrid, Spain, and the Academia de Canto La Scala in Milan, Italy, Paoli made his debut in Paris. Antonio Paoli went on to earn numerous honors and awards. He then returned to Puerto Rico in 1917. Antonio and Amalia established a voice training school in San Juan. They also helped in theater productions at San Juan’s Municipal Theater. The San Juan Municipal Theater was renamed The Antonio Paoli Theater in his honor in 1934.[8]

Antonio died on August 24, 1946, and was buried in the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery of Isla Verde. On April 13, 2005, his remains were exhumed and transferred to Ponce’s Roman Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon [9] Antonio Paoli is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to achieve international fame in the musical arts. The museum at Casa Paoli gives visitors insight into the fascinating life story and achievements of Puerto Rico’s “Tenor of the Kings”.[10]

National Register of Historic Places

The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 2009.[2][11][12] The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of October 9, 2009.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places". Weekly Listings. National Park Service. October 9, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Juan Llanes Santos (August 11, 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Casa Paoli" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 16, 2009. (19 pages, with maps and b&w historic photos and 5 recent color photos)
  3. ^ Casa Paoli – Honoring the Tenor of the Kings
  4. ^ CasaPaoli.org
  5. ^ a b US Dept of the Interior, National Park Service. NRHP Registration Form. Casa Paoli. 2009-08-11.
  6. ^ a b Virtual Tour
  7. ^ Antonio Paoli's early years
  8. ^ Paoli's first professional years
  9. ^ “La Perla del Sur” news weekly, April 6–12, 2005.
  10. ^ Tenor of the Kings
  11. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-10-16.
  12. ^ Casa Paoli at NRHP

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