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Antônio de Almeida Facióla (São Luís, Maranhão, November 18, 1865 – Belém, Pará, May 9, 1936) was a Brazilian architect, banker, pianist, and politician. Faciola was a prolific art collector and purchased work, mainly from Europe, for almost 50 years. His collection is now...

Early life
Antônio Facióla was the son of João Facióla and Michaela de Almeida. He had seven siblings: Maria da Glória, Victor, José, and João, born Porto, Portugal; Maria Josefina, Maria Anna, and Maria Laura were born in the Facióla family manor house in Francavila-Alessandra, Italy. Antônio studied at a primary school in both Porto and Francavila-Alessandra. He enrolled at the Milan Conservatory of Music where he graduated with honors. He became close friends with maestro Antônio Carlos Gomes (1836-1896), the only non-European composer during the "golden age of opera" in Italy.

The Facióla family returned to Brazil before the turn of the 20th century and settled in São Luís, Maranhão. Antônio, now a talented pianist, taught piano to the daughters of the Maranhão elites. He married Servita, one of his students; from this union they had three children: Oscar, Inah and Edgard. Antônio became interested in the book trade in São Luís. His maternal grandfather owned "A Universal", the largest bookstore in the city.

Facióla in Belém
Antônio Facióla moved to Belém [when]. He taught at the Music Conservatory, and taking after his grandfather in São Luís, opened "Maranhense", a bookstore. Facióla was subsequently elected state senator and pursued commercial interests as a partner and shareholder of the Banco do Estado do Pará (State Bank of Para) and Companhia de Cervejaria Paraense, a brewing company. He became director of both firms. Facióla became intendante, or mayor, of Belém, after the Revolution of 1930 under the patronage of Governor Eurico de Freitas Vale. He was intendante for just one year, but continued urban design projects in Belém after his tenure. These include the expansion of Avenida Presidente Vargas, begun under Antônio Lemos, and Avenida Serzedelo Correia, remodeling its lanes.

Praça do Relógio
Facióla most significant public work was the acquisition of a large public clock. It sits at the center of Praça Siqueira Campos, in Ver-o-Peso, affectionately called Praça do Relógio ("Clock Square") by the residents of Belém.

Palacete Faciola
Antônio Facióla resided at Chácara Bem-Bom (Solar Facióla) on Avenida Tito Franco in the Marco da Légua neighborhood. He purchased

"After the death of Bento José da Silva Santos Junior, one of the heirs of Palacete Silva Santos, the building was acquired by the architect, pianist and politician Antônio Almeida Facióla (bookseller owner of the Maranhense bookstore), patriarch of a traditional family of merchants from Belém, where probably lived there from 1916, after moving from Chácara Bem-Bom (Solar Facióla), located on the old Avenida Tito Franco in the Marco da Légua neighborhood. The mansion was designed in 1895 and completed in 1901 by José de Castro Figueiredo, an architect and designer from Pará, recognized as one of the first engineer-architects in the region. The building is the result of a period of social and urban changes, marked by the modernization of the city inspired by the so-called rubber society." Iron fittings on the palace windows have the monogram "S.F.", an homage to Dona Servita Faciola, his wife. It is found throughout the decor of the house.

Art collection
The Rubber Cycle in Belém led to intensive collecting of European art, led by governors José Paes de Carvalho and Augusto Montenegro (1867-1915), but also private citizens, including Antonio.

Antonio Faciola was "one of the greatest collectors in the city" and purchased artwork for almost 50 years. He used his home, Palacete Faciola, into a private museum. It was described in in the 1970s as last of stronghold in Belém "of what should and can rightly be called a gallery of art objects”; the collection included paintings, alabaster, bronze, enamel, porcelain, marble, furniture and “everything in which they left their mark” by artists such as Emile Gallé (1846-1904), whom Mr. Faciola had the opportunity to meet in Paris. "The collection of Gallé vases and even in the collection that is now deposited in the Historical Museum of the State of Pará, heir to the former Palace of the Governors of Pará." Faciola acquired the oil painting Por de sol no oceano by J. Rollin via the merchant Silva Santos. He owned a collection of watercolors by B. Herincq; they were purchased in Paris by the judge Augusto Olimpio.

Death
Faciola died...

Reference
https://fauufpa.org/2011/09/24/chacara-bem-bom-propriedade-do-intendente-antonio-faciola/