The luxurious residence, characteristic example of neo-Baroque eclecticism, was built in 1878, designed by Xenophon Paionidis on behalf of the French Jew Jeborga. In 1894, it was sold to the distinguished Jewish lawyer Emmanuel Salem, one of the founding members of the Thessaloniki Bar Association, who also participated with the Greek delegation in negotiations on the Treaty of Lausanne. Shortly afterwards, his son Raphaël Salem, one of the greatest Greek mathematicians in modern history, was born in the house. ‘Salem Numbers’ got their name in the honor of Raphaël Salem, and Salem Prize, a prize for mathematicians who work on the same subjects, him, i.e. Complex and Harmonic Analysis is awarded until today to the most talented ones. In 1924 the building was purchased by the Italian State to which it belongs until today and functioned as Italian Consulate until 1978. After the relocation of the Consulate in a new space, it remains untapped. The building has experienced unexpected publicity when a ‘fan’ of the popular series “American Horror Story” made a poster depicting the Salem Mansion with the title of the series below and was so successful that was reproduced as ‘official’ poster of the “American Horror Story” at hundreds of sites and blogs worldwide.
