Porteño Switzerland
A family history and the Swiss origins of two Buenos Aires city neighborhoods
Welcome Avatar! Today we’ll go over the juicy history of the Swiss family company still listed on the S&P Merval today, tied to two lesser highlighted CABA neighborhoods that certainly do not resemble Switzerland as far as aesthetics go: Villa Soldati and Villa Lugano.
When most people think of Swiss influence in Argentina, the mind drifts to chocolate in Bariloche, watchmakers in Recoleta, or the alpine roofs of Villa General Belgrano. The Soldati story runs in the opposite direction.
A young man from Ticino arrives in Buenos Aires in 1888 with no capital and a brother working behind the counter at a drugstore in San Telmo, and within two decades he is founding two barrios at the southern edge of the city, naming one after his hometown and the other after himself.
Giuseppe Ferdinando Francisco Soldati
The story the future founder of the Villa Lugano and Villa Soldati neighborhoods starts in May 1864, right when the Paraguayan War (1864-1870) was heating up in the Southern Cone.
Giuseppe Ferdinando Francisco Soldati was born in Neggio, the Italian part of Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino, very close to Lugano.
At 21, he traveled to the United States seeking new horizons and opportunities, but he didn’t fare well financially and decided to return to Switzerland. His brother, Francisco Silvio, a talented businessman, was already in Argentina, where he worked at “Droguería La Estrella,” as a trusted employee of the De Marchi family, the owners. Francisco Silvio encouraged his brother to travel to Argentina, where he saw more direct opportunities for his brother.
Finally, in 1888, Giuseppe Soldati departed from the Port of Genoa on the transatlantic ship “Savoie” bound for the Rio de la Plata, arriving in Buenos Aires on December 9. From here on out he became known as “José”, the Spanish equivalent of the Italian Giuseppe.
José Soldati began working at the same drugstore alonside his brother, which remains located (as a pharmacy) on the corner of Adolfo Alsina and Defensa streets to this day.
In 1898, the owners of the drugstore (the De Marchi family), decided to reward their most qualified and long-serving employees by transferring its management, who formed the partnership “Soldati, Craveri y Tagliabue.”
From this successful business venture also emerged the drugstore “La Inglesa,” which would have branches in Rosario and Bahía Blanca. Among other business activities, Soldati partnered with other prominent families from Ticino, such as the Devoto family, in the “Nuevo Banco Italiano.” He also owned ranches in the provinces of Buenos Aires and La Pampa.