Dom Pedro II Home

Dom Pedro II Home, known in Portuguese as Abrigo Dom Pedro II, is a historic retirement home and former mansion in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The institution occupies a large nineteenth-century urban manor on the southern shore of the Itapagipe Peninsula, facing the Bay of All Saints. Its building was originally known as Palacete Machado and is regarded as possibly the largest private residence constructed in Bahia during the nineteenth century. The structure extends for approximately 120 metres and combines a central block with two long wings, spacious corridors, formal gardens, decorative ironwork, neoclassical details, and a prominent entrance façade. The mansion was built during the first half of the nineteenth century. It was associated with several prominent occupants, including the Portuguese ambassador and the first director of the Bank of Brazil. In 1859, Antônio Gonçalves Gravata sold the property to Commander Francisco Xavier Machado, whose name became attached to the residence. During the 1880s, the building was converted from a private home into a charitable institution. It reopened in 1887 as the Santa Isabel Poor House, or Asilo de Mendicidade Santa Isabel, under the direction of the Santa Casa da Misericordia. This transformation preserved the building as a major landmark while giving it a social-welfare function focused on people in poverty and, later, older residents. The Santa Casa transferred ownership to the City of Salvador in 1913. On June 18, 1943, the institution was renamed Dom Pedro II Home in honor of Pedro II, the second and last emperor of Brazil. Over time, its care involved religious communities including the Comunidade das Irmãs do Abrigo Dom Pedro II and the Companhia das Filhas de Caridade de São Vicente de Paulo. The home therefore developed as both a municipal social-service institution and a site of religiously supported care for elderly and vulnerable people. The property is also significant for its architectural and artistic contents. Its exterior includes sash windows, lunettes, statues, urns, an elaborate entrance fence, and an imperial coat of arms associated with the period when the building was adapted as a charitable home. Many ceramic ornaments were produced by the Santo António do Vale Factory in Lisbon; the collection at the residence has been described as the largest grouping of those works in Bahia. Inside are large rooms retaining much of their original scale, a grand hall with oil paintings, a jacaranda rosewood table in the Dom João V style, and the Chapel of Saint Isabel, whose nineteenth-century interior includes a neoclassical altar with gilded woodwork. The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage listed the building as a protected historic structure in 1978 under inscription number 983. The protection covers the building, garden elements, statues, and historic ceramics. The structure and grounds underwent renovation in 1997, but subsequently deteriorated. The cost of operating a retirement home while maintaining a large heritage property created serious financial and practical difficulties. In 2018, retirement-home operations were transferred to another address, leaving the original building closed to visitors and reportedly in an advanced state of disrepair. The exact current operating status of the institution and the ownership or management arrangements for the historic property require further verification.

Dom Pedro II Home occupies a major historic residence on Avenida Luís Tarquínio beside the Bay of All Saints in Salvador. The property was built during the first half of the nineteenth century as Palacete Machado, an unusually large urban mansion that may have been the largest private residence in Bahia at the time. Its occupants included the Portuguese ambassador and the first director of the Bank of Brazil. Antônio Gonçalves Gravata sold the property to Commander Francisco Xavier Machado in 1859, after which the Machado name became associated with the house. The building's private-residential use changed during the 1880s. It was adapted for social assistance and reopened in 1887 as the Asilo de Mendicidade Santa Isabel, or Santa Isabel Poor House. The institution operated under the Santa Casa da Misericordia, reflecting the role of charitable and religious organizations in providing assistance to poor and elderly people in nineteenth-century Brazil. The property passed from the Santa Casa to the City of Salvador in 1913. The institution acquired its current name on June 18, 1943, when it became Abrigo Dom Pedro II, or Dom Pedro II Home, honoring Brazil's former emperor. Its care was subsequently associated with two religious communities: the Comunidade das Irmãs do Abrigo Dom Pedro II and the Companhia das Filhas de Caridade de São Vicente de Paulo. The site became known not only as a residence for older people and vulnerable residents but also as a religiously supported social-service institution. Architecturally, the property is an extensive sobrado with a central section and two long lateral wings linked by corridors. The façade is approximately 120 metres long. It contains neoclassical elements, sash windows with lunettes, formal statuary, ceramic urns, an ornamental iron fence, and a central entrance crowned by a pediment bearing the imperial coat of arms of Pedro II. The grounds include a garden and a historic fountain facing Avenida Luiz Tarquínio. Several decorative ceramics and statues were made by the Santo António do Vale Factory in Lisbon, and the site is considered to hold the largest collection of those works in Bahia. The interior preserves large rooms and elements of the former mansion. A grand hall contains an oil-painting gallery and a jacaranda rosewood table associated with the Dom João V style. Behind the main entrance is the Chapel of Saint Isabel, a nineteenth-century chapel with a neoclassical altar and gilded wood carving. Some interior changes date from the conversion of the mansion into a charitable institution in the 1880s. The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage designated the property a protected historic structure in 1978 under inscription number 983. The listing covers the building and significant landscape and decorative features. Renovation work took place in 1997, but the structure later deteriorated. Maintaining a large historic building while operating an institutional care facility generated financial and administrative pressure. In 2018, the retirement-home operation moved to another address. The original building was subsequently described as closed to the public and in an advanced state of disrepair. The home is also associated with Lindalva Justo de Oliveira, a Brazilian religious sister who worked with elderly poor residents there in 1993. She was murdered at the institution that year and was beatified in 2007. Her connection gives the site an additional religious and commemorative significance. Because publicly available information does not establish the present legal, operational, or conservation status in detail, the current status of the facility should be treated as requiring review.

• 2018

  Care operations transferred

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  Retirement-home operations moved to another address because of the difficulty and expense of combining elder care with preservation of the historic property.

• 2007

  Lindalva Justo de Oliveira beatified

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  Oliveira was beatified on December 2, 2007.

• 1997

  Building and grounds renovated

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  The historic building and its grounds underwent renovation, although later reports described deterioration.

• 1993

  Death of Lindalva Justo de Oliveira

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  The religious sister, who worked with elderly residents, was murdered at the institution.

• 1978

  Listed as a national historic structure

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage protected the building and associated historic elements under inscription number 983.

• 1943

  Institution renamed Dom Pedro II Home

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  On June 18, the institution adopted the name Abrigo Dom Pedro II in honor of Brazil's former emperor.

• 1913

  Property transferred to Salvador

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  The Santa Casa transferred ownership of the property to the City of Salvador.

• 1887

  Mansion becomes Santa Isabel Poor House

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  The former private residence was reopened as a social-assistance institution under the Santa Casa da Misericordia.

• 1859

  Palacete Machado changes ownership

  [1]Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org

  Antônio Gonçalves Gravata sold the mansion to Commander Francisco Xavier Machado.

A municipal and historically religiously supported elder-care institution whose identity is closely tied to a protected nineteenth-century heritage building in Salvador.

• Health and social care

  Residential elder care

  The institution historically provided residential accommodation and assistance for elderly and vulnerable people. Its social-service role developed from the Santa Isabel Poor House and continued after the property was renamed Dom Pedro II Home. Publicly available reference material does not specify the precise medical, nursing, or accommodation services currently offered after the 2018 relocation.

• Architectural heritage

  Historic mansion and heritage site

  The former residence is a large nineteenth-century manor with a central block, two wings, formal gardens, a chapel, historic furniture, oil paintings, sculptures, ceramic urns, and an original fountain. The building is protected as a historic structure, although it has been reported as closed to the public and in poor condition.

• 2018

  Transfer of retirement-home operationsStrategy

  Background

  Operating a retirement home within a very large historic structure while funding preservation reportedly created significant financial and administrative difficulties.

  Action taken

  Retirement-home operations were transferred to another address, while the original property remained a protected historic building.

  Aftermath

  The original site was described as closed to visitors and in an advanced state of disrepair. The current operating relationship between the relocated service and the historic property is not established by the available reference.

  Source

• 1887

  Conversion from private mansion to charitable institutionStrategy

  Background

  The large private residence was adapted to serve a social-welfare purpose during the 1880s.

  Action taken

  The property reopened as the Santa Isabel Poor House under the Santa Casa da Misericordia.

  Aftermath

  The building became a long-term site of organized care and assistance rather than a private residence.

  Source

1. 1Dom Pedro II Homeen.wikipedia.org