Valentin Mandache, architectural historian

The past year has been challenging in many respects, shaped by the turbulence of national-populist politics in Europe and the United States, as well as by the anxieties generated by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, close both to my principal area of work and study, Southeast Europe, and to my base in Bucharest. As an independent scholar, these developments have had a direct and adverse impact on the market for my professional services, as my audience has understandably become more concerned with the pressing issues of the day and consequently less responsive to my research findings and educational work in architectural history.

Despite all those headwinds, I was able to carry on successfully my activity as an architectural historian, which unfurled on five directions:

1. Study trips
2. Specialist guide for learned societies
3. Bucharest architectural history tours
4. Research
5. Social media engagement

In the following paragraphs I will give brief overviews of those directions emphasising my goals and outcomes.

1. Study trips

These are envisaged as short forays to locations in Europe and beyond that are significant for their architectural heritage and art museums, enabling me to remain professionally up to date and to verify in situ the theories and evidence on which I am currently working. In 2025, I undertook seven study trips, immersing myself in the high culture of these European destinations and consolidating my ideas in the fields of architectural and art history.

I. Budapest

The season of such cultural excursions began in May this year, when I took a short flight from Bucharest to the magnificent Hungarian capital, a true imperial centre of the former Habsburg Empire. My principal objective was to visit The Art of Life, an exhibition on Hungarian Art Nouveau at the National Gallery, a once-in-a-decade opportunity. I also sought to examine at close quarters Budapest’s monumental architecture, particularly Hungarian Secession and its connections with Transylvanian ethnography, as well as the aesthetic and political convergences and tensions with other national styles across Eastern Europe.

Budapest is perhaps the best place in Europe in which to examine and experience the tensions and affinities between the universal (international) and the national (local) dimensions of the Art Nouveau movement. This study trip proved deeply illuminating in this regard. It was a great pity that the world-famous Museum of Applied Arts was closed for renovation, a process ongoing since 2017, thus depriving me of the opportunity to acquaint myself properly with Hungary’s contributions in this field.

II. Istanbul

In mid-July, I departed from Bucharest for Istanbul, flying over the fabled Cape Kaliakra on the Black Sea coast and along the Constantinople/ Fatih Peninsula, where many features of what was once The City were still discernible, including Hagia Sophia, the Mese (Divan Yolu), the ancient main thoroughfare, and the enormous Theodosian Walls, which for a millennium have stood as a defence of both Constantinople and Europe.

One of my aims in Istanbul was to further explore clues on the Wallachian style in Ottoman art and architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries, situating it among the influences from Persia and particularly Mughal India, prior to the extensive European incursions into the art and architecture of the Sublime Porte. To achieve this, I revisited and closely examined the details of Topkapi Palace, as well as the Suleymaniye, Yeni, and Nuruosmaniye mosques.

Another objective was to deepen my understanding of the late Byzantine architecture of the former Eastern Roman capital. I achieved this by visiting for the first time the Pantokrator Monastery (now Zeyrek Mosque), the last great church built in Constantinople in the 12th century and the largest after Hagia Sophia. It served as the imperial necropolis for the Comnenian and Palaiologan dynasties once the Church of the Holy Apostles became full of imperial tombs, and it housed a large, well equipped and staffed for its time hospital. To me, the site manifestly embodied the last gasp along the way in the inexorable decline of what we call now Byzantium, as reflected in its architecture.

III. Athens

This trip, which took place in late July, was focused on the Byzantine heritage of the Greek capital, a journey intended to refine and consolidate ideas and concepts I have developed over the past few years concerning the art and architecture of South-East Europe. The flight from Bucharest carried me over the monk republic of Mount Athos, a slender peninsula protruding from Halkidiki, easily discernible and profoundly evocative from the vantage point of my aerial seat.

These objectives were achieved by immersing myself in the rich collections of the Benaki Museum and the Museum of Byzantine and Christian History, and by conducting field research on the churches of the Macedonian and Comnenian dynasties in Athens, namely, Holy Trinity ‘Soteira Lykodimou’ (11th century), Panagia Kapnikorea (11th century), Saint Nicholas Rangavas (11th century), and Agios Eleftherios (12th century). One detail that particularly caught my attention and stimulated reflection was the pseudo-Kufic decoration on 11th-century churches, which may reflect an Islamic prestige influence from the period when some historians suggest Athens was under the sway of the Emirate of Crete.

IV. Varna and Balchik

This early September study trip was happily combined with my annual seaside holiday, which I usually spend on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. To reach the shore, I drove across the Bărăgan Steppe, one of the westernmost reaches of the vast Eurasian plain stretching eastward to the Pacific, crossed the Danube by ferry at the old Roman town of Durostorum (modern Silistra), through which the Goths, driven by the Huns, invaded the Roman Empire in AD 376, and traversed the former Roman province of Moesia Secunda, present-day southern Dobruja, a landscape reminiscent of the French Auvergne, before finally arriving at the idyllic coast between Varna and Balchik.

My aim there was to study the provincial architecture of the late Ottoman period, the Bulgarian Renaissance and national-style buildings, as well as the surviving traces in the built environment from the period of Romanian administration in Balchik.

V. Rome

In late September, I set off southwest to Rome, majestically flying over the historic Venetian port of Zara (Zadar) in Croatia and the striking Palazzo Farnese, a Renaissance pentagonal structure superimposed on a medieval fortification north of Rome, before landing at Fiumicino Airport. I endeavoured to absorb as much as possible in my limited time from what this epicentre of world culture had to offer, spanning ancient art and architecture, Late Antiquity, Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, and even inter-war Mussolinian works.

The textbook transition from Renaissance to Baroque architecture, interior decoration, and spectacular exhibits featuring Caravaggio, Bernini, and many others at Villa Borghese, a key destination of the trip, provided some of the most enlightening moments of my professional life. It is a place that undoubtedly calls for many future visits.

The mosaics, Cosmatesque floors, chiaroscuro decorations, and abundance of ancient Roman spolia were the highlights of my visits to the basilicas of San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria in Trastevere. The ancient doors of the Roman Senate, now serving as the portal of San Giovanni and once touched by emperors such as Trajan and Aurelian, were particularly evocative, as was the majestic Roman-Byzantine synthesis represented in the 12th-century altar apse mosaic of Santa Maria.

VI. Barcelona

I flew there during the night over a pitch black Mediterranean, landing late, seeing only bits of Minorca and the lit boats and lights in the port and on the shore of Barcelona. My goals in the capital of Catalonia were to get acquainted with some of Antoni Gaudi’s representative creations, to explore the relationship between his genius, art and the genius loci, as everything seemed imbued by local tradition and nature’s forms, and examine the local urban fabric and architecture of the La Belle Epoque, for which the city is world famous.

Gaudi’s masterworks, which I visited were Casa Batllo, La Pedrera (Casa Mila) and La Sagrada Familia cathedral. Their organicity, inspired from nature, from snake ribcages, fish bones, and the hanging stones on the crest of nearby Montserrat, made his Art Nouveau the quintessence of Catalan Modernism, which inspired an entire school of design, imprinting profoundly the architecture and art of the region. The urban fabric of Barcelona, its grid of streets, La Rambla, Diagonal were another sight to behold, a supreme urban comfort in a high density area, easy to navigate.

Barcelona was the artistically most sophisticated place where I have ever been, a goldmine for an architectural historian, where the work of Gaudi and his creative energy permeates the whole environment.

VII. Thessaloniki

The flight to what was once the second metropolis of the Eastern Roman Empire was short, over the Danube and the Balkans, prompting a lot of thoughts about this erstwhile frontier region and its role in the birth of European civilisation, and barbarism too. My aim in this trip was to deepen my reflections and theories about the Byzantine and national era architecture of Thessaloniki and its region and how they sit in the context of Southeast Europe.

The Byzantine era architecture unfurls for nearly the whole existence of the empire of Constantinople containing some of its best preserved churches. The highlight for me was Saint Sophia, the largest Byzantine era church there, built during Iconoclasm and decorated in its aftermath, an intriguing example of that momentous transition. St Demeter basilica, a most important pilgrimage site for the Christians of the Balkans, was another locus to contemplate the late antiquity, early Byzantine and even Western influences in architecture and art.

The national era architecture, which emerged from the ashes of the great fire of 1917, is very peculiar to the region, drawing inspiration from the local Byzantine heritage and to some extent from the Ottoman one, in contrast to Athens’ national architecture and in the south of Greece. Also the national design of Thessaloniki evolved a couple of decades later or more that the others in Southeast Europe, like the Neo-Romanian, Hungarian Secession or the Neo-Ottoman.

2. Specialist guide for learned societies

Southeast Europe, and especially the northern Balkans, are often off the beaten track for learned and professional societies from Western Europe and elsewhere when it comes to organising study trips for their members. A remarkable boutique cultural travel agency based in Brașov, with which I worked for many years, stands out in Romania for attracting such groups and for organising their itineraries in meticulous detail. This year, I was commissioned to act as specialist guide for two such organisations: the Irish Georgian Society and the Worshipful Company of Fletchers. My role was to provide a contextualised interpretation of the sites visited, integrating their history, art, and architecture, and to deliver a professional intellectual service of the highest standard. The benefit is mutual: I engage with a highly educated, informed audience eager to deepen their understanding of the cultures of Southeast Europe, while they, in turn, benefit from a peer-level guide capable of elucidating the civilisational contexts of their study trip.

I. Irish Georgian Society

The motto of the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) is “promoting and protecting Ireland’s built heritage, historic gardens, and decorative arts”, a mission that closely aligns with my own professional objectives in Southeast Europe. This renowned heritage organisation, based in Dublin, organised a tour for its members in Wallachia and Transylvania, which took place in early May.

As their specialist guide, I offered an in-depth introduction to the indigenous Wallachian style of southern Romania—a remarkable Christian–Islamic synthesis in architecture and the arts that emerged within the Ottoman frontier province of Wallachia between the 17th and 19th centuries. This distinctive cultural legacy was explored through landmark sites such as Mogoșoaia Palace, Casa Hagi Prodan in Ploiești, and Bellu Manor in Prahova County. Their encounter with Romanian art history was further enriched through expertly guided visits to the National Art Museum in Bucharest and the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu. The Neo-Romanian style was showcased in full splendour during visits to the historic Causeway Buffet in Bucharest and the magnificent Cantacuzino Palace in Bușteni. The programme also included a curated tour of Sibiu (Hermannstadt), originally designed by me for a royal visit by King Charles III.

II. The Worshipful Company of Fletchers

One of the ancient livery companies of the City of London, it represents a tradition of the British elite distinguished by learning and cultivated curiosity. In October, a substantial delegation of its members travelled to Saxon Transylvania for an in-depth study visit.

I opened their tour with an insightful walking exploration of the old town of Brașov (Kronstadt), the historic metropolis of Saxon Transylvania, followed by a visit to Viscri (Deutsch-Weißkirch), a remarkably well-preserved Saxon village. There, I presented its Gothic fortified church and later met with the former mayor, Caroline Fernolend, a friend from my London years, who was instrumental in placing the village on the international map by drawing the interest of the then Prince Charles to Saxon Transylvania. A highlight was a visit to King Charles III’s property in Viscri, a beautifully restored Saxon farmhouse that now also functions as a museum and a model of sustainable rural practice. The journey continued to the fortified church and village of Alma Vii (Almen) and concluded at the fortified church of Mălâncrav (Malmkrog), with lunch at the former manorial residence, Apafi House, where a Hungarian Roma ensemble entertained the distinguished guests. The excursion ended in Sibiu, where I once again guided them through a tour previously designed by me for a visit by King Charles III.

3. Bucharest tours

In 2025, I conducted at least two editions of 23 architectural tour itineraries in Bucharest, drawn from my portfolio of 35 such cultural excursions. These tours represent my direct engagement with the local public, which include Bucharest residents, expatriates, ambassadors to Romania, other diplomats, and international professionals and politicians visiting or working in the capital. The tours are well above average educationally, promoting awareness of local architectural heritage, fostering an understanding of the grammar of architectural styles, and providing insight into the city’s social and economic history.

The Bucharest tour itineraries, which conducted this year (multitude editions), were the following:

• Ottoman Bucharest and the Wallachian style
• Bucharest as the Little Paris of the Balkans
• Art Nouveau Bucuarest
• The early Neo-Romanian style in Gradina Icoanei
• The Neo-Romanian style at its peak (mature phase)
• The late Neo-Romanian style (synthesis with Art Deco) in Kiseleff area
• Art Deco and Modernist Bucharest
• The Art Deco of Domenii quarter
• The funerary architecture of Bellu Cemetery
• East Cotroceni area
• Central Cotroceni area
• Western Cotroceni area
• Dorobanti area
• Mantuleasa area
• Calea Victorie area
• Mosilor – Armeneasca area
• Cismigiu area
• Athenaeum area
• Dacia area
• Berthelot – Cazzavillan area
• Batistei area
• Plantelor area
• Patriarchal See Hill area

4. Research

I am a field architectural historian, meaning that the greater part of the information I gather and analyse derives from fieldwork and on-site research, corroborated by reliable secondary sources, such as books and academic articles on the architectural history of Southeast Europe. A smaller proportion of my work involves archival material. Even these secondary sources are often scarce and fall short in terms of research quality and scholarly rigour, which makes my field research all the more essential to my work.

My research is concerned with the following subjects, fundaments of the architectural history of Southeast Europe.

• The Wallachian style – the Christian – Islamic synthesis in architecture and art on the frontier of the Ottoman Empire between the 17th c and the 19th c, the last and least known such synthesis that ocured from Moorish Spain, Arabo-Norman Sicily to the Caucasus and further afield.
• The common Ottoman background architecture and art of Southeast Europe – a Cinderella subject obscured by today nationalist and anti-Islamic discourse of many national historiographies in Southeast Europe
• The Neo-Romanian style – a highly political (nationalist) architectural design of the Romanian national state, the most prodigious such national architecture in the entire Eastern Europe.
• Interplays between the national architectures of Eastern Europe – research on the national styles in architecture in the emerging independent states of Eastern Europe, how they conditioned and confronted each other.
• The vernacular architecture of southern Romania/ Wallachia – the architecture of the craftsmen and villagers of southern Romania of the late 19th c and the 20th c.
• Architecture and art on geopolitical frontiers: Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia, Bulgaria – architecture and art at the triple confinium of empires (Ottoman, Habsburg and Muscovy/ Russia).

5. Social media engagement

These networks are my lifeline as an architectural historian, allowing me to reach the public and cultivate a market for my services. I currently have over 25,000 followers across platforms, all organic subscribers, not there as result of paid adverts, of whom at least 150 (0.6%), the Dunbar number, representing the typical size of a self-sustaining human community since the first Neolithic villages, are dedicated followers. Their and many others engagement makes my professional activity possible, particularly given that I am an independent scholar, unaffiliated with any state institution that could otherwise support me.

I am active on the following social media platforms:

• WordPress: Valentin Mandache, architectural historian: Considerations on the built heritage of Southeast Europe https://historo.wordpress.com
• Substack: Valentin Mandache’s architectural history bulletin https://valentinmandache.substack.com
• Facebook page: Valentin Mandache, architectural historian https://m.facebook.com/vmarchitecturalhistorian/
• Instagram: valentin.mamdache https://www.instagram.com/valentin.mandache
• Twitter: Valentin Mandache https://x.com/casedeepoca
• Youtube: Valentin Mandache, architectural historian https://youtube.com/@casedeepoca
• TikTok: Valentin Mandache https://www.tiktok.com/@casedeepoca

Conclusions and aims for 2026

As noted in the introduction, 2025 proved a particularly challenging year for my field of activity, conducted in a frontline country bordering the war in Ukraine. Despite these constraining circumstances, I was able to maintain a high standard of work across a range of directions within the architectural history of Southeast Europe. This was supported by my multidisciplinary educational background—aviation technology (Technical Military Academy of Romania), geology and geophysics (BSc, University of Bucharest), economics (Postgraduate Diploma, Birkbeck College), government and politics of Northern Eurasia (former communist world) (MSc, London School of Economics and Political Science), and civilisation, architectural identity, and the geopolitics of Southeast Europe (doctoral studies at LSE). Together, these fields enable a holistic approach to my research and professional practice in the architectural history of Southeast Europe, integrating technology, geology, climate history, economics, social history, statistics, and art history.

In 2026, I intend to continue pursuing and further refining the five areas of activity expounded above in this report. In addition, I plan to branch out into the following activities:

• Writing thematic articles to be published on my social media platforms.
• Consistent video production, published on Youtube and shared on other platforms.
• Online architectural history courses for the interested Romanian and international public, on platforms like Zoom.

I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2026!

© Valentin Mandache