The Ambassador Residence in Dar es Salaam
The residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Dar es Salaam, at no. 104 Kenyatta Drive, was built 1950-1952 by Amirali Yusufali Karimjee, Minister for Industry and Commerce of the then Tanganyika, family member known Karimjee Jivanjee asserted itself in the cultivation and export of tea and sisal.
The villa was designed by the architect firm Bransgrove Hastings, with the collaboration of the same Amirali Yusufali, who had visited Spain and collected many photographs of historic buildings. The Architect Arrigoni realized the project on behalf of the construction company-Karimjee Jivanjee Estates Ltd.
The complex draws inspiration from the Alhambra of Granada and a house built in Seville at the time of Alfonso XIII. These Hispanic-Moorish features are placed in relief also by the materials used: majolica tiles imported from Andalusia, gates and wrought iron grilles.
The ceramic composition placed in the patio, in front of the coat of arms of the Italian maritime republics, reproduces the Realm of Spain, while the salon loggia is decorated with wooden panels with verses from the Koran. Located in a residential area shaded by acacias and baobabs, the short cape that separates the wide Oysterbay beach from the inlet of Msimbazi, the building is divided into two wings connected by a quadrangle, consisting of twenty-three columns of coral stone topped compound by capitals with wooden lintels, inspired by the Roman villas restored in Britain.
The north wing, covered with scale Andalusian tiles, comprises two floors and a balcony protected by a high railing delicately worked. Four bedrooms are the master apartments. The south wing consists of a large living room illuminated by skylights and twenty six French doors that open on one side of the interior patio, the other on the park terrace. This part of the building was enlarged in 1986 by System Construction LTD Ameglia, with the addition of a lounge and a quadrangular tower diagonally opposite to that of the north wing, which gives access to a room for guests with covered loggia and a view of the park. In the same year the company has built a south wing, which houses the new dining room, adorned with tall mirrors and limited to the east by five French windows opening onto the park terrace, slightly elevated above the gardens. In 1992 the same company has built a long wall on the west side and built two large entrance gates. The east side of the patio is bordered by an access to the park porch.
The west façade is preceded by an avenue which widens in the square facing the front door, topped with a pink stone archway leads into the atrium, it also covered with polychrome tiles. This part of the garden is dominated by a huge tree foliage dome reaching thirty meters in diameter and mighty trunks twisted into sturdy branches. It ‘a religious Ficus also called Abo or Peepul tree and most commonly Buddha tree, planted in 1952 by a monk Ceylon Buddhist.
Under his hair grow various ornamental plants and grass carpet a small plaque commemorates the small Ferdi, for short months dog protecting the sites. The park covers the opposite end of the building and is shaded by tall stems characteristic of African flora. Plants and shrubs forming flower beds throughout the year, from the gorgeous colors on the whiteness of the walls. Down a few steps you reach the eastern, more pleasant and shady. The south side has a higher altitude, on which leans a lovely terrace with a balustrade with small columns, natural stage for music bands that entertain guests in receptions.
The new wing of the building ends with a newsstand and a porch adorned bath with tiles with floral motifs, among which depicts a Castile lion and the Colombus caravel.
Among the personalities invited to the villa from the first owner, is reminiscent of the Prince Aly Khan, the Maharajah of Baroda and Portbandar, US Senator Adlai Stevenson, Louis Armstrong, Randolph Churchill, the Viscounte Boys, the British Governor General Edward Twining and Richard Turnbull, President of the then Tanganyika Julius Nyerere and Bernard Grizmek.
After the purchase by the Italian State Property in 1963, the residence hosted the President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies Hon Giulio Andreotti, Senator Giovanni Bersani, the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Salizzoni, Luciano Radi Mario Pedini, Roberto Palleschi, Mario Raffaelli, and Carmelo Azzara ‘, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Hon Guido Bernado, the President of the Institute for Foreign Trade Luigi Deserts, Sen. Tullia Carettoni, the Mayor of Bologna Renato Zang, Mrs. Mariapia Fanfani, Gen. Sergio Siracusa, the Secretary General of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Horace Kolimba, Ministers Tanzanian Gilman Rutihinda, Steven Kibona, Benjamin Mkapa, Abdulrahman Kinana, Al Noor Kassum, Philemon Sarungi, Nyalala Kiula, Anna Makinda, William Shija, Marcel Komanya, the Ambassadors Abbas Kleist Sykes, Paul Rupia, Crispin Mbapila, Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawango and Hemedi Suleiman, Professor TL Malyamkono, Monsignor Luigi Mazzucato and Professor Anacleto Dal Lake, the writers Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Pazzi and Andrea Bardi, Professor Enrico Castelli, Professor Donato Sartori, the architect Paola Piizzi, the antiquarian Simona Fraja, poet, musician and composer Enzo Samaritans and his son John, pianists Carole Carniel and Nadia Fanzaga, the Elie-Georges Berreby painters, Luc-François Granier, Flo Liebst, Lady Moon and Professor Umberto Gori.
The celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (March 17, 2011) brought together a large audience of fellow countrymen and prominent personalities of the Tanzanian society including the children of the Father of the Nation Julius Nyerere, the Minister of Justice Hon. On Celina . Kombani, the Minister of Agriculture Hon. Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe, Minister for Social Affairs and the Status of Women Hon. Sophia Simba Mnyambi.
The celebration of the National Day of June 2, 2011 was attended by the Minister of Internal Affairs Hon. Shamsi Vuai Nahoda, the Minister of Information of Zanzibar Hon. Abdulahi Hassan, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health of Zanzibar Dr, Mohammed Jiddawi.
The Rapprentante Foreign Minister for Emergencies Hon. Margherita Boniver visited the residence during his visit in Tanzania 4 to 5 March 2011.
The beneficiary concert of Marco Castelli Quartet opened the Italian Festival event that was held in Dar es Salaam 18 to 20 November 2011 with a large collection of funds for the FALMI, a Franciscan missionary group present in the area of Kigoma with projects in the education and health sector. A representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director General of the Directorate for Multilateral Cooperation, Mrs. Dora Msechu attended the musical evening.