Abdelhafid Palace
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The Abdelhafid Palace or Moulay Hafid Palace is a historic structure at 23, rue Mohammed Ben Abedelouhab in the Hasnouna neighborhood of Tangier, Morocco.[1] It was built in 1912–1913 as the intended main residence of former Sultan Abdelhafid following his abdication, but was never used for that purpose. In 1927, it was purchased by Italy and subsequently renamed Palazzo Littorio, hosting various public institutions including schools and a hospital. In 1943 the Badoglio government had it renamed Casa d'Italia,[2]: 419 and a few years later it became known as the Palace of the Italian Institutions.[2]: 428 Despite it hosting various Italian-related activities and was renovated in the early 2000s, it has long been underutilized.[3]
The property on which the palace now stands was previously the location of the Belgian legation in Tangier, established there in the late 19th century by Belgium's first consul Ernest Daulin, surrounded by a vast garden. It was then purchased by Abraham Sicsu, a member of the local Jewish community that had worked as a translator for Daulin and later became Belgian consul himself.[4]: 250
Palace of Abdelhafid
A few months after Abdelhafid signed the Treaty of Fes that established the French protectorate in Morocco, resident-general Hubert Lyautey negotiated his abdication in August 1912 in exchange for a massive pension.[5] Abdelhafid used part of it for the palace in Tangier, which he intended as his main retirement residence.[6] He acquired the Belgian legation property from Abraham Sicsu, and had the legation building demolished. The new palace was designed by Diego Jimenez Armstrong, a Paris-trained architect who designed Tangier's iconic Gran Teatro Cervantes around the same time,[4]: 388 and built in 1913 in reinforced concrete,[2]: 407 with ornate fittings in precious stone and woodwork.
The former sultan never inhabited it, however. He departed from Morocco immediately after his abdication, stayed for a while in France and then took residence in Spain instead of returning to Tangier as previously intended. His pro-German associations during World War I led Lyautey to order the confiscation of his Moroccan properties in 1918.[7] The protectorate authorities then sold the Tangier palace in a government auction, which was won by the Paquet shipping company of Marseille founded by Nicolas Paquet, a predecessor entity of the Chargeurs group. Paquet subsequently kept it unused for nearly a decade.[2]: 407 As a consequence, the palace was continuously empty from its completion to its Italian purchase in 1927.[2]: 416