Dear readers,
I would like invite you tomorrow, Saturday 25 September ’10 at 21.06 h (GMT+3, ie London summer hour + 2h), to listen to an interview which I gave at the invitation of Mrs Denise Theodoru, senior editor at Radio Romania Actualitati, the national radio broadcasting station in this country, within the programme entitled “Famous Signatures“, which can be listened obline at the link just mentioned or for those of you based in Romania on the radio frequency 105,3 FM. The interview is in the Romanian language and takes about one hour. The recording was conducted walking up and down leafy streets in a corner of Bucharest that still preserves its picturesque inter-war mix of Art Deco and Neo-Romanian architectural styles and urban ambient. I expounded there actual issues facing the historic houses of Bucharest and Romania and made considerations about the local market for period properties of which I am the only specialist consultant in this country. I also spoke about my professional training as a historian at the London School of Economics and activity in the United Kingdom in fields related to the study and market of historic houses.
With best regards,
Valentin Mandache, author of the “Historic Houses of Romania” blog
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 
Sir. I just read in Romanian news press that a beautiful house situated on Tudor Arghezi streeat with neo-clasic style was demolished just a few days ago? What bunch of savages. Artless human beings. Can you, or someone else save those beautiful houses that Bucharest still got in possession?!
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There is a mass movement taking up roots now against such sort of insensitive actions and ignorance. It will take probably another generation for the locals to start again appreciate their architectural heritage and identity, at a level similar with that encountered among western communities. Until that time comes, sites like mine and others’ are doing the ground work, but the force and financial power of the local ignorant masses and so-called entrepreneurs are too great to oppose effectively, resulting in situations like that described by you. VM
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