The penetration of Italian professionals in the context of the Siamese modernization

This essay discusses relations between the Kingdoms of Siam and Italy, 1900-30, focusing on the central role played by Italian architects and engineers in the introduction of European building knowledge and techniques in Siam. The general context is the extensively described phenomenon of “cultivated emigration” involving a significant segment of the European professionals working abroad in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this particular case, however, we have examined Italian expatriates in South East Asia. Several researchers have published papers on the subject in recent years, but a thorough framework for the study has yet to be set up. The perspective chosen for the article is European. In addition to housing the source of the research, Europe is first and foremost where the building culture expressed by the projects analyzed here was forged and understood. In this article, we do not deal directly with the complex problem of the encounter between the Italian and Siamese building cultures. Instead, we have tracked the export to Siam of two European construction techniques (reinforced concrete and metal structure, especially as applied to bridge construction), emphasizing the contribution provided by Italian architects and engineers.