Juan Bertoli Calderoni (sometimes spelled Juan Bertoly Calderoni) was a nineteenth-century French architect from Bastia, Corsica, and long-time resident of Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he designed various prominent structures including Teatro La Perla, Casa Serrallés (now, Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña), and Residencia Ermelindo Salazar (now, Centro Cultural de Ponce, at Calle Cristina #70) among various other historic building.
First years
Bertoli Calderoni was the son of Juan Ludovico Bertoli and Maria Luisa Calderoni.Eli D. Oquendo-Rodriguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto historico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 59. He came to Puerto Rico from Bastia, Corsica, in 1845, contracted by the Spanish Military Corps of Engineers to work at La Fortaleza and other Spanish military installations in San Juan.Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Breviario sobre la Historia de Ponce y sus Principales Lugares de Interes. 1st edition. 1991. San Juan, PR: Model Offset Printing. Page 53. Subsequently, he moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico, seeking better recognition for his skills. In Ponce, he designed and directed the building of Teatro La Perla, the first neoclassical construction in Ponce.Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Breviario sobre la Historia de Ponce y sus Principales Lugares de Interes. 1st edition. 1991. San Juan, PR: Model Offset Printing. Page 53.
Legacy Among Bertoli's most distinguished works is the Teatro La Perla (1860s). He also designed the former downtown Ponce residence of the Ermelindo Salazar (1870) at 70 Cristina street. The latter was originally built as the residence of prominent Ponce businessman and subsequent Ponce mayor, Ermelindo Salazar; it was also the first headquarters of Museo de Arte de Ponce,En precario la sede ponceña: Incierto futuro para el Centro Cultural. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. 9 March 2011. Accessed 16 March 2011. Weblink Updated 17 March 2018. and today is home to the Centro Cultural de Ponce. He also designed Casa Vives, the home of the owner of Hacienda Buena Vista.NRHP Registration Form. Carlos A. Rubio Cancela. Puerto Rico Office Of Historical Preservation. Page 3. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
Honors Bertoli is recognized at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.Architecture. TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012. In Barrio Segundo, Ponce, there is a street named after him; the street leads to Castillo Serralles.
See also
Alfredo Wiechers Francisco Porrata Doria
Notes
References