Why is it called the Bell Villa? How Nicolae Minovici’s house became a museum

On the Bucharest-Ploiești road stands an architectural jewel that began as a private home and soon became Bucharest’s first private museum of folk art. Known as the Bell Villa, or Vila de la Șosea, the neo-Romanian building was raised in 1905 by the renowned forensic doctor Nicolae Minovici.

Museum curator Ionuț Alexandru Banu describes Minovici as a forensic doctor, university professor, mayor and creator of important institutions. He was also a philanthropist concerned with public welfare, the living conditions of disadvantaged people and the education of young people. Alongside that commitment, Minovici devoted himself to preserving and promoting national values.

Minovici had interests in painting, sculpture, art studies, architecture and collecting. Around 1904, after returning to Romania from specialist training, he began developing the project on land he had bought in Băneasa-Herăstrău. He initially intended to build a home, but the result became a nationally significant work of architecture with international echoes, reflecting Romania’s traditions and influences.

The house rose near the new wing of the Băneasa Hippodrome, built around the same period. The opening of the new racetrack helped expand Bucharest’s elite social life, and carriage drivers extended their routes to the distant Minovici residence, which gradually became a model and landmark.

Minovici later recalled the house in these words: “I built this house in 1905. Indeed, here I tasted my only moments of peace, or rather, I used to taste them. Thirty-one years ago, when I built the villa, I was far from the noise and agitation of the city.” The building bears the signature of architect Cristofi P. Cerchez.

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I built this house in 1905. Indeed, here I tasted my only moments of peace, or rather, I used to taste them. Thirty-one years ago, when I built the villa, I was far from the noise and agitation of the city.