Scharloo - A nineteenth century quarter of Willemstad, Curaçao: historical architecture and its background

Scharloo, a quarter of Willemstad already existing in the eighteenth century, developed in a magnificent way during the second half of the last century. Many Jewish families, who had become the richest in Curacao during those years thanks to their commercial activities, chose this part of the town to build monumental houses in a new style: the classicist style. Their luxurious dwellings often closely recalled American plantation houses or English or Italian villas, from which they were indirectly copied.

In these homes the Jews led a particular way of life, marked by a grandeur typical of that group offamilies called hende di Scharloo, Scharloo people. Though nowadays this way of life has disappeared and many of the houses are decayed, this book brings back to life through the memories of elder people, supported by deep research in archives and libraries, a golden period in the history of Curacao, which had its highlight in Scharloo.