Indian Villas in the Valencian Landscape (Spain): Casino del Americano

Abstract

After the phenomenon of emigration from Ultramar, a new architectural style, know as Indiana architecture, appears mostly located in the Canary Islands and the northern provinces of the Peninsula. This particularity makes of our case of study an exclusive construction of this emergent social class in the Valencian landscape. La Quinta de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, also known as Casino del Americano, is a recreational villa that since 1869 forms part of the Benicalap neighbourhood, and whose architectural and construction characteristics make it a property of great heritage value, and one of the last Indian villas in the city of Valencia. Due to the lack of bibliography, information will be mostly obtained through the study of the building. The graphic surveying is the main working method, which has an intrinsic value because of the danger of collapse of the building. The main aim pursued by this research is to present a historical, stylistic and constructive study, as well as a definition of the main characteristics of Indian architecture, through the most representative case of Indian villas in the city of Valencia. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.