Vasco da Gama’s house to be restored

NEW DELHI: Portugese explorer Vasco da Gama’s 16th century house will be transformed to its original glory, albeit with a few modern touches. Delhi-based Aman Nath and Fransic Wacziarg, are involved in restoring the house, next to St Francis Church in Kochi, after they bought the property from the British tea company J Thomas, two years ago.

“The house should be ready in the next two months. We are actually restoring it in collaboration with an Indophile French couple John Persanda and Marie Jose, who took an interest in the property. We have tried to maintain the different influences that the house came under over the ages — from Portuguese to Dutch influences,” says Nath.

Le Colonial, located at Kochi, has been the official residence of the Portuguese governor for 150 years. It also housed the Dutch governor for a century and a half and was eventually passed on to J Thomas.

“Eventually, the place is going to be converted into a heritage hotel. Although we haven’t made any changes to the exterior of the house, the interior has been made plush,” Nath said. The restorers have also tried to maintain the Dutch and Portugese influences through furniture and paintings of the time. “Some of the ancient features such as the sloping roof have been left at that,” says Nath.