The inns of Bucharest. A study of potential patterns used in the Wallachian Capital

Abstract

. Th e present paper aims to draw a general perspective on the possible models which the builders of the great inns of Bucharest might have considered when they decided to erect those ensembles. Th e directions indicated by the 19 th century bibliography point towards the Italian Peninsula, with the Venetian Fondaci and the Genovese trading posts as reference points. Th e ideas therein would be adopted by the historians and researchers of the following century with no attempt to further the investigation on this topic towards a thorough analysis of the general context or the architectural form. Doubts regarding the fi liations from the western world are expressed no sooner than the second half of last century, when the alternative of the Near East is brought to discussion, a much more probable hypothesis given the economic and political relationships that Walachia used to have with the Ottoman Empire. Despite the seemingly general consensus reached by this new research direction, it has not yet stirred any attempt to go deeper into the subject so as to address the inns of the Ottoman Empire beyond the general and vague descriptions. Rezumat. Studiul de faţă încearcă să contureze o perspectivă generală asupra posibilelor modele pe care constructorii marilor hanuri din București le-au avut atunci când au decis realizarea acestor ansambluri. Direcţiile sugerate de bibliografi a secolului al XIX-lea trimit către Peninsula Italică, fondaco -urile veneţiene și cantoarele genoveze constituind puncte de reper. Ideile formulate vor fi preluate de istoricii sau cercetătorii veacului următor fără a exista o încercare de aprofundare a subiectului în care să fi e analizat contextul general sau formele arhitecturale. Îndoieli cu privire la fi liaţiile