Monsignor’s house on the Kordon - Fabio Tito, 2026

Izmir, September 13, 1922. Small fires begin to appear, eventually leading to a major catastrophe in the city. Within a day or two, nearly two-thirds of the city is consumed by flames. St. John’s Cathedral suffers extensive damage, while the archbishop’s residence and the archdiocesan offices are completely destroyed. In the days following the fire, the archbishop at the time, Monsignor Vallega, re-established the archdiocesan offices in the Solari House—according to the newspaper *Amaltheia* (Ἀμάλθεια) in its issue dated January 8, 1923. The same newspaper, in its issue of August 23, 1923, reports that Monsignor Vallega was evicted from the Cambaz (Τσαμπάζη) House.

In his memoirs, Gilbert D’Andria notes that Monsignor Vallega was rarely seen in the city, as he resided in Buca. D’Andria writes, “He was very seldom seen at the archbishopric; he lived in seclusion at his home in Buca.” D’Andria traveled by train to visit him at his Buca residence to discuss one of the cathedral-owned properties—which had once belonged to D’Andria’s own family—that had been completely destroyed in the fire. They met in a small, dark room that the archbishop used as his study. Meanwhile, the companion accompanying D’Andria waits in the garden of the house… Land registry records from 1936 reveal that Monsignor Tonna—who succeeded Vallega as Archbishop of İzmir in 1929—resided on the Kordon, in one of the area’s oldest houses. According to the 1889 plan of the İzmir waterfront (*Plan Général des Quais de Smyrne*), the house’s original owners were the Tsarektsoglou family. Located near what is now Gündoğdu Square, the structure survived the Great Fire; it was originally two stories high, though a third floor was added later.

Tsarektsoglou property shown in 1889 plan of Smyrna.

Monsignor Descuffi, who followed Tonna, also lived here. In 1950, the journalist Şahap Balcıoğlu conducted an interview with him at this residence regarding the restoration of the House of the Virgin Mary. A report published in the newspaper *Akşam* on December 17, 1950, features a photograph of the house, captioned “The Archbishop’s residence in İzmir.” However, this three-story building was demolished in 1963, only to be replaced by a seven- or eight-story apartment block.

The former Vallega house reconstructed with AI from a low quality photograph.

On January 8, 1964, while residing at the Church of Saint Polycarpe — a temporary arrangement pending the completion of a new building on the site of the former archbishopric — Descuffi delivered a lecture on the authority of bishops in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. On March 11 of the same year, all the priests serving in İzmir gathered at the new archbishopric offices—located on the sixth floor of a building at 210 First Kordon—to resolve a matter concerning morality. Monsignor Descuffi resided on the seventh floor of the same building… His tenure in İzmir concluded on November 4, 1965.

He was succeeded by Monsignor Gumbinger, who passed away just ten months into his service. Next came Monsignor Zupi, who served for only two years, followed by Boccella and Caloyera.

These apartments were in use for fifteen years; however, a few months after taking office, Monsignor Caloyera initiated renovations. On March 5, 1979 — coinciding with these renovations — he relocated the Archbishopric offices to the Church of Saint Polycarpe. During the renovation period, he himself resided with the Dominicans.

On January 22, 1983, Monsignor Bernardini assumed his duties. He used these apartments for a short time before moving permanently to the Church of Saint Polycarpe. Since that day, the Archbishops of İzmir have resided at the Church of Saint Polycarpe—the same site that houses the Archbishopric offices… Or, more precisely, in the buildings belonging to the church named after Saint Polycarpe, the patron saint of İzmir and one of its earliest archbishops.

And what, then, became of the apartments on the Kordon? They were sold after being rented out for a period… Today, Venezia Cafe is located on the ground floor of the Sedef Apartment building at 210 Birinci Kordon…

Research: F. T., İzmir, October 2026
Written sources
Archive of the Catholic Church in Alsancak
*Akşam* newspaper, December 17, 1950
*Amaltheia* newspaper, January 8, 1923
*Amaltheia* newspaper, August 23, 1923
D’Andria Gilbert, *Smyrne en ce temps-là…*, 2018
Palinuro Massimiliano, *La Basilica Cattedrale di San Giovanni Apostolo ed Evangelista - Smirne*, 2018
Pınar İlhan, *Osmanlı Dönemi İzmir Plan ve Haritaları* (Plans and Maps of İzmir During the Ottoman Period), 2020
Poulimenos, Chatzikonstantinou, *Η προκυμαία της Σμύρνης* (The Waterfront of Smyrna), 2018.