Hidden Cultural Treasures of Puerto Rico

The town of Yauco, located in the southwestern part of Puerto Rico, was originally a settlement of theTainos, the native indians that populated the island. The word Yauco means "yucca plantation" and the area was considered the capital of 'Boriken' as the natives called Puerto Rico at that time. The area became a town with the arrival of Spanish settlers and also attracted many Corsicans as the island of Puerto Rico is very similar in geography to the island of Corsica. Under the Spanish Royal Decree of Graces, the Corsicans and other immigrants were granted land after swearing loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Catholic Church. After five years, they could apply to become Spanish subjects. While Spaniards tended to settle along the coast towns, the Corsicans preferred the mountainous regions with Yauco attracting the largest number of Corsican immigrants. The three main crops in Yauco were coffee, sugar cane and tobacco but the cultivation of coffee made fortunes for some of these Corsicans.

The son of one of these immigrants born in Yauco in 1868, Alejandro Franceschi Antongiorgi, a businessman and philanthropist, commissioned a house in the center of town in 1907. French architect André Troublard designed the home with two entrances, one on each street, and a veranda with ionic columns for the facade. While the exterior of the house reflects the typical Creole style, the inside is graced with French Beaux-Arts interiors with detailed stucco work, impressive frescos and oil paintings in the walls and ceilings.