Story of Joseph Salvatori shared in new book

Who was Joseph Salvatori? He was an influential businessman whose work left TT with two landmarks: the Salvatori Building and Mille Fleurs.Some will remember the Salvatori Building as a landmark in Port of Spain, at the corner of Independence Square and Frederick Street.

Mille Fleurs is on Queen's Park West, Port of Spain.

Salvatori was born in France in 1880 and came to TT in 1910, the National Archives website said. He died in 1959.

The story of Salvatori and his importance to TT is being told in the book SALVATORI. Un Corsu A Trinidad.

The book launch will take place on November 18 from 5-7 pm, and a related exhibition will run from November 19-25.

The National Archives of TT’s website says Salvatori Building was built in 1961.

“It was owned by Salvatori, Scott and Company, a company founded by Joseph Henry Salvatori. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the city.”

The original building was a general store with three storeys and 15 distinct departments, the website said. When the business shut down in 1970, it became home to several government agencies and ministries, shops and a post office on its ground floor. It was demolished in 2006.

What began as a family project has turned into wider historical record.

The family’s representative Lorraine O’Connor – Salvatori’s great-granddaughter – said she always wondered who he was and why he was so special.

She said in a phone interview, “Because there was the Salvatori building, I know he lived in Mille Fleurs. I saw medals and letters signed by the General de Gaulle (late French army officer and statesman Charles de Gaulle) on my grandfather’s walls framed as a child growing up.

“I was always curious about it. I met Felicia Chang (founder of Plantain), and, aware of the work they were doing, I said, ‘Listen, let us dive into this history and find out more. Why he left Corsica? What happened when he came across here?

“’How could he – if they say he was a poor farmer in Corsica – how did he become so wealthy and live in this beautiful home?’”

Plantain is a company that does research on genealogy and family ancestry.

“Literally, they spent a year doing the research, interviewing the existing family members who are still alive and compiled it and put it together,” O’Connor said.

Initially, the Salvatori family had commissioned Plantain to write and publish the book for them as a “private thing.”

“But when we had the book in our hands and we read the story…my children and all told me, 'Mom, this is too big, you need to spread the word. You need to let people know who Joseph Salvatori was.’”

The initial project started in 2018 and 60 books were initially printed for the family.

A new version was produced for the public this year. This is the book that will be launched on November 18.

The launch is taking place at Mille Fleurs, the home in which Salvatori and his wife Cecilia lived.

“Fortunately, Mille Fleurs was restored in the past year and we are able to have the launch at Mille Fleurs, which is so beautiful, because that was their home for over 50 years,” O’Connor said.

Not only is Salvatori’s story being documented in a book but O’Connor also plans to document his life and work through a major feature film. She is a film producer and is currently working on the script.

She entered the incomplete script in a competition last year and was selected to attend a workshop for three weeks which gave her a lot of incentive to continue. By the middle of next year she hopes to start shopping the script around and looking for production companies.

She also hopes to access the collective public consciousness and hear from people who remembers what it was like shopping at Salvatori Building.

“Now there is just a car park. What would be interesting is to tap into people’s memories to go back to when it was a department store.”

Apart from the many people who played a role in getting the book published, O’Connor also thanked the National Trust for supporting ventures like these and for caring about TT’s national treasures like Mille Fleurs.

“We don’t know these things. It is not taught in our schools. We are taught history that has no relevance to who we are as a people most of the time.”

O’Connor believes not enough is done to teach TT’s children about personal histories of national importance like Salvatori’s.

"Nobody knows who is Joseph Salvatori, the work that he did. He was one of the biggest contributors to the free French during the Second World War. One of the biggest contributors in the Caribbean, meaning he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to liberate France."