Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The site, like much of Dusit, was a swamp. Allegri had decided that in engineering terms
the massive structure had to be floated, and he devised a series of caissons that were com-
bined with hundreds of piles created by drilling ten metres below the surface using a spe-
cial drill named a Compressol, supplied by a French firm, and filling them with concrete.
The foundation stone was laid in the early morning of 11
th
November 1908, the open-
ing day of the fortieth anniversary of the fifth reign. The materials began to arrive from
Europe: marble, granite and ironwork from Italy, bronze and copper from Germany, and
textiles and carpets from England, much of it being unloaded at the new Wasukri Pier that
had been built in 1909 as a landing stage for the royal barges. Many of the elements were
prefabricated, and in late 1909 Rigotti went back to Italy to coordinate the production and
delivery. A year later Galileo Chini, a Florentine painter and ceramist, was engaged to ex-
ecute the monumental frescoes for the interior. Within days of Chini signing his contract
for the thirty-month job, there came dismal news. Rama
V
had always known that the An-
anta Samakhom Throne Hall was going to take many years to complete. He had made it a
practice to carefully monitor the progress, frequently visiting the site and chiding anyone
he felt was being tardy. He had joked to Chao Phraya Yomarat, who was supervising the
works, that if it were completed in ten years he would relinquish the throne and become a
grass-gatherer on an elephant trail. A year later he was dead, passing away at the Amphorn
Sathan Residential Hall in Dusit on 23
rd
October 1910 of kidney disease. Chini arrived in a
very subdued city. Work continued under Rama
VI
, but slowed down after the outbreak of
World War i, which delayed shipments from overseas, and the Ananta Samakhom Throne
Hall was completed in 1916.
The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, centrepiece of Dusit, was built on swampland.
On 24
th
June 1932, the Equestrian Plaza in front of the throne hall was the rallying
point for thousands of supporters of the People's Party, following the bloodless coup two
days previously that had terminated the absolute monarchy and declared a constitution-
al monarchy. The first constitution was signed in the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall on
10
th
December the same year. The equestrian statue of Rama
V
had been erected in 1908
