Italian taste in cosmopolitan Burgas

I love Burgas and all the stories that lurk in the streets, squares and its beautiful houses. I often imagine what life was like for the people who lived before us and the others before them. I collect different stories about the city and never stop looking for places that carry the spirit of Burgas’ past... One such place is the house of 28 "Knyaz Alexander Battenberg" str. (in front of the stairs of "Neptune"). It was built in 1900 for a wealthy Greek merchant. The walls and ceilings were richly decorated in the style of "Rococo", the portals were made by imported etched glass, but unfortunately the interior has not been preserved. According to some the architect was the Italian Ricardo Toscani (church "Sv. Sv. Cyril and Methodius", the shopping center Bezistena, hotel "Imperial", "Modern Theatre", the Rodeva house etc.), But in his book "Architecture of Burgas 1878-1940" arch. Atanas Sirkarov contradicted this statement.

During the 20s of the 20th century the house changed its inhabitants and became a German school. At that time Burgas was gaining speed and with unusually fast for the country pace creates an image of a cosmopolitan center with communications by land and sea, occupying the first place in the export of goods and third in the import. There was a constant flow of people from different nationalities and ethnicities who wanted education for their children in their mother language. Thus the language learning for all the citizens became a necessity rather than just a fashion trend.

Along with the other foreign language schools (Turkish, Greek, Jewish, Armenian, Russian, German) in 1930 opened the first Italian infant school – at the house of the Prenerovi family at "Antim I" str. and "Georgi Shagunov" str.  Among the first enlisted children was Apostol Karamitev.  Due to the increasing interest a course in initial Italian training is organized, which in 1934 is located on "Knyaz Simeon I" str. The success of the infant and nursery school gave reason to the Italian Ministry to establish an Italian school in Burgas for the academic year 1937-1938. The new building of the German school on "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" str. has been completed and the house on 28 “Knyaz Alexander Battenberg " str. was ready to open its doors to the first class of "Alfredo Oriani" high school, named after the Italian writer, historian, comedy maker. 

The tuition fee was 2000 leva per year, but compared to the other foreign schools that amount was considered not very large. The school’s council accepted orphans and children from large families free of charge. Angelo Riboldi, one of the directors, was a director of a high school in Milan. One of the teachers was the Italian nobleman Count Leonardo Di Leo, whom old citizens of Burgas remember with roaming the city on horseback. The art teacher was Katervo Gigli, brother of the  famous tenor Benjamin Gigli. In the high school there was also a choir, whose conductor was Dimitar Karadjov. Under his musical leadership the students have performed several operettas with great success.

All subjects are taught in Italian and the students studied also Latin, Greek and German. The grades were on a 10 point scale. At the end of the course each student could attend an exam and receive a diploma for semi-classical or classical high school. There were also organized competitions in football, volleyball, tennis, athletics with students from the German school and the Male High School. The training in rowing was taking place near the port.

The Burgas press of that time regularly reported that the Italian high school students are the most regular visitors of the five cinemas in the city, where several new films were shown every single week. On April 9, 1937 the newspaper "Burgas Lighthouse" wrote: "On Saturday evening at 8.30 pm., in our theater, the Royal Italian school will present for the first time in Bulgaria the fairy mass opera “Nevolina” in 3 acts with classical music. Involved are more than 100 individuals and a group ballet - stars, crickets, butterflies, dwarves, peasants and peasant women. All performers are costumed with original costumes, according to the age. For the successful presentation of the opera a large orchestra conducted by Dimitar Karadjov is gathered".

In August 1939 a group of 18 students went to a camp in Italy, where an Italian language competition on a given topic was held, involving 1500 participants. Among the top ten were three students from Burgas - Apostol Karamitev, Emil Venkov and Zelko Manev. The future actor was the star of the School - a student, tennis player, participant in school plays and recitals, even giving lessons in Latin. We can only imagine the spirit that has haunted between the walls of the building with the beautiful view of the sea and the enthusiasm of the Italian graduates who actively influenced the atmosphere in the dynamic Burgas. About 80 percent of them have been accepted to study at universities and their secondary education is recognized throughout Europe. The last academic year was 1943, when the first and the only class graduated . The World War II was in full swing and an order of suspension of classes in high school arrived from Italy. With the coming to power of communism in 1945 all foreign language schools in Bulgaria were closed. In the years of socialism the building on 28 "Knyaz Alexander Battenberg" turned into a kindergarten. With the advent of democracy the house is abandoned and inhabited by the homeless.

Text: Lina Slavova

Photo: Nikolay Koshnicharov

Magazine “Vij! Burgas”, vol. 2