İstanbul Feriköy Latin Katolik Mezarlığında Neoklasik Yapılar

Abstract

Transformations in the socio-cultural structure of Istanbul that started in the eighteenth century were reflected in the architectural fabric of the city. In the meantime the Ottoman capital witnessed a growing appropriation of foreign architectural features and the emergence of a hybrid stylistic vocabulary. Westernization of the society was accompanied by an intensive building activity during the post-Tanzimat (1839) years, and consequently the rise of new buildings with western façades became the new trend. This study involves an introduction to the Neoclassical style in nineteenth-century Istanbul, focusing on funerary monuments displaying this stylistic vocabulary at the Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery. Established in the 1850’s, this cemetery where mostly prominent Levantines and their families are inhumed, is the largest Catholic burial ground in the city. Among a wide variety of styles, there are also a significant number of funerary structures built in the Neoclassical idiom. The analysis covers some of these tombs expounding on the ornamental features reflecting the Classical Revivalist style prevalent in Europe in the nineteenth century.