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THE BUILDING
 The seat of the ICBIE EUROPA is a building with a ground floor and two upper levels, completed in the first years of the twentieth century but probably begun at the end of the nineteenth century. Its eclectic design, which seems to mix a serene and elegant liberty style with a touch of the baroque and classical English influences, is shown by the size of the windows and their positioning. The pitched roof creates a triangular space at the top of the façade, with pilasters and false capitals, floral decorations and three circles that obviously refer to some kind of esoteric symbolism: something dear to the family or the architect?
On the ground floor are found a reception room, three storage rooms, two bathrooms and a large terrace; on the first floor is a large hall (for expositions and film projections), a reading room, a large hall that hosts the library of the ICBIE, and three rooms for offices; on the second floor is another large room with a sea view, three bathrooms, and three other large rooms that are now used as a language room, a music room and an art studio for drawing and painting.
There is also a private space with bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living room. A helicoidal staircase made of Jacarandà wood connects the two floors, and the sturdy walls have been built with bricks and a mortar made with whale oil. Throughout, ceilings and floors are made of precious woods that have been recently restored, without altering the original structure. Nearly fifty windows and twenty-five doors have also been restored, and, always faithful to the original design, the roof has been rebuilt using wood and tiles of the best quality. In order to reduce the risk of fire, a new electrical system has replaced the hazardous and faulty pre-existent wires and switches.
Like other buildings in the Ribeira bairro, it was originally intended as a holiday resort, only three miles from Pelourinho and the Marcado Modelo, facing what was the busy port in the merchants’ quarter of the city of Salvador. The tip of the Itapagipe peninsula was a fazenda owned by the wealthy family of Amado Bahia shippers, who built the famous Solar Amado-Bahia, a kind of miniature Versailles for the Bahian upper class that is now protected by the state. That development spurred the construction of many other typical buildings, first for the many children, cousins, nephews and grandchildren of the Amado Bahia family, and later, many plots were sold, effectively transforming the fazenda into many small properties: a supposition that is based on the plethora of new constructions that arose between 1910 and 1930, more than could be needed by the three hundred members of the illustrious family. Our building apparently belonged to a nephew of the main branch of the Amado Bahia family, the Bahia Ramos, who was responsible for the discreetly imposing proportions and the serene and sober elegance of the design. In the neighborhood it is believed that the last of the Bahia Ramos, Dona Raquel, continued to live here until the early 1970s. Popular legend has it that she fed her dogs pieces of raw meat while sitting immobile in her lounge chair, and that one day, a small caimano, hungrier than usual, seemingly bit her hand. Up to the time of Dona Raquel, it seems that the building was well maintained. The building subsequently became the seat of the Bahia Sport Association, then the atelier of an artist, followed by transformations into a restaurant, a printing shop, a night club, a service agency, another restaurant, an artisans’ studio, a gas warehouse, and a bicycle repair shop.
THE STATE IN WICH WE FOUND IT
The photographs show quite well the state of the building when it was purchased by the ICBIE EUROPA to realize the Ele D’Artagnan International Project School: the roof was rotten, the wood attacked by insidious tropical termites, with plaster falling on the interior and large cracks in the walls, an electrical system with hanging wires, water pipes that leaked, antiquated bathrooms, doors and windows hanging askew, flooring and ceilings with many cracks or completely detached.
THE RENOVATIONFrom the moment we arrived, unbridled enthusiasm carried the reconstruction along at a rapid, even miraculous pace; now it seems that the building has been restored to its original splendor, giving it a new lease on life. It is no longer an abandoned monument, falling to pieces, forgotten and dead, like so many other buildings in the most beautiful and historic parts of Salvador, and which so often are scandalously demolished, giving way to modern horrors. Today its serene elegance has finally been restored, and is able to transmit a feeling of well-being that can stimulate our community and our visitors to fruitful artistic production.
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