
Conservation Work & Houses
europe




Eszterháza Palace
Sopron, Transdanubia, Hungary
Built in the 1760s by Prince Miklós Esterházy, the palace consists of an eleven-bay facade flanked on the park side by two five-bay wings. Set in an 800 acre park with numerous dependencies including a theater, miniature temples and a Riding Stable. On behalf of the World Monuments Fund in conjunction with the Hungarian National Board for the Protection of Historic Monuments (OMvH), preparation of an investigation, historical research, drawings and feasibility studies for the conservation and adaptation of Esterháza as a music academy, museum, learning facility for musical related craftsmanship and a hotel for guests of the academy for the European Mozart Academy.




Erdödy-Choron Castle
Jánosháza, Hungary
The land became known as Jánosháza, “the lands of Janos.”
The Erdödy-Choron Castle is one of the few surviving medieval castles in Eastern Europe. It is located in the Transdanubia region of western Hungary near the Austrian border. The castle has a tower surmounted with an onion shaped dome and is encircled by a wet moat.
The eastern wing was constructed at the end of the 15th century. In the early 16th century, Péter Erdödy enhanced the castle with Renaissance details and in 1558 sold it to András Choron, another eminent commander. The castle passed to his son Baron János Choron, who maintained a permanent army. At this time the western wing was added and the height of the tower increased.
In the mid-17th Century, the Choron family sold the castle to Palatine Miklós Illésházy. His daughter richly decorated the rooms of the piano nobile with wall paintings. Following the death of Anna Illésházy Erdödy in 1765, the castle passed to Sándor Erdödy VI, who restored the castle in 1935.
After World War II, the castle, under the Communist regime, became State owned and was used as a school until 1979. Between 1979-86 the Hungarian National Board for the Protection of Monuments (OMvH) performed research and conservation work.
In 1998, the Hungarian government granted the castle and its property to Joseph Pell Lombardi. A complete history of the castle was compiled and the property was stabilized and conserved under the direction of the Budapest office of Joseph Pell Lombardi & Associates, Architects.
In 2008, Joseph Pell Lombardi returned Erdödy-Choron Castle to the Hungarian government.
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Erdödy-Choron Castle, 1998Erdödy-Choron Castle, 1998
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Oil painting by Bela TothOil painting by Bela Toth


Palazzo Cappello-Memmo
Venice, Italy
Palazzo Cappello-Memmo is on the Greci Canal in Venice. It is an early 16th century Renaissance style Palazzo decorated with Lombardesque details. On behalf of the World Monuments Fund, analysis of the feasibility of adapting the Palazzo into housing for Venetians in conjunction with a Vivaldi Museum as part of the Church of the Pieta complex.




ACSA Prónay Palace
Acsaújlak, Hungary
Reconstructed by Gábor Prónay I, a nobleman to the designs of Giovanni Carlone Battista, a master builder from Italy in a Baroque style between 1735 and 1740 from the ruins of a medieval castle which had been damaged during the Turkish occupation. With its four turrets and hilltop location, it is a late Renaissance interpretation of a castle. In the 19th century neo-Baroque details were added by Baron Pronay, further enhancing the palace.
During the Second World War, the palace was used by the Russians for disabled soldiers. In 1994, the palace was vacant, the internal layout and exterior organization remained, including a bridge over the entrance drive leading to the former formal gardens.
Only 26 miles from Budapest, the medieval origins of Prónay Palace were an opportunity for interesting research and the plain white walls likely concealed wall painting to compliment the Baroque ceilings. Advancement of research, conservation. furnishing and decoration.