 Although the Marengo family was originally
in the ship building industry, today they are
headed towards the medical spa industry.
“In the 16th and 17th centuries, the
Marengo family was in the shipbuilding
industry in Venice,” says Jojo Marengo, who is
the historian of the family. “At the end of the
17th century they extended their commerce to
Syros in Greece and Marseilles in France, two
important shipbuilding centers in the
Mediterranean at the time. Today, the
Marengos still maintain contact with various
branches of the family all over the world.
Dr. Jean Marengo Bey*
 Dr. Jean Marengo Bey (1841-1917) was
the nephew of Archbishop Yanni Marengo and
Grandfather of Jojo Marengo. A physician and
diplomat, Dr. Marengo was the representative
of French goverment to the Ottoman court of Sultan
Abdul Hamid. The Ottoman kingdom was one
of the most powerful empires for the previous
four hundred years, and Sultan Abdul Hamid
ruled an empire that stretched from the
Danube River in Austria to Yemen at the edge
of the Arabic peninsula.
During his numerous trips in the Empire,
Dr. Marengo collected many eastern
remedies and exotic preparations that have
unique healing characteristics. He shared his
vast knowledge and collections with his
colleague Dr. Louis Pasteur. “In fact, in the
Pasteur Museum today there is an Ottoman
carpet that that has the inscription ‘Gift from
Dr. Jean Marengo to his friend Louis
Pasteur’,” states Jojo.
Dr. Marengo was the 19-century originator
of the very first Carbolic Acid Peel for wrinkle
removal. “Wrinkle removal treatment at that
time consisted of home remedies and bathing
in mineral springs,” says Jojo. “My grandfather’s
revolutionary idea of resurfacing the
skin with acid took Europe’s medical
community in a storm. I guess you can say he
was the first cosmetic surgeon in Europe.”
Much later, in 1969, the Marengos took
the idea from their grandfather and developed
Peel O Matique, the first facial peel mask for
home use.
Archbishop Yanni Marengo
(From The Catholic Encyclopedia) “The
Catholic hierarchy in Greece took hold with
the Archdiocese of Athens, established in
1875, when Bishop Yanni Marengo of Syros (pronounced in Greek Marangos also Giovanni in some Italian documents) took up his seat there, in spite of the protest of
the Government. King Otho of Bavaria, the
first king of regenerated Greece, was a
Catholic. In his reign the Catholics were few.
But arrangements were made that the
Catholics could have a place of worship
wherever they existed in sufficient numbers.
After Athens became the seat of government,
in 1834, an abandoned Turkish mosque was
given to the Catholics as a place of worship.
After the lapse of some years, in 1875,
archbishopric was established in Athens. The
first Archbishop to occupy this See was Yanni
Marengo followed by archbishops, Zaffino, De
Angelis, and Delendas. Marengo was born in
the Aegean Island of Syros.
Other Marengos who became bishops:
Monsignor Rafael Marengo the Archbishop of
Smyrna and Administrator Apostolic of Asia
Minor, Bishop Manuel Marengo, Bishop
Emeritus of Azul, Argentina, and Bishop
Orestes Marengo, Apostolic Administrator
Emeritus of Tura, India.
Andoni Marengo
Dr. Marengo’s son, Andoni Marengo,
dedicated his life to art and literature. He was
a novelist who also wrote an interactive
encyclopedia about world rulers, leaders and
generals, from Attila to Zenobia. He was also a
painter who painted mostly church frescoes.
He also developed a shorter version of
shorthand. He married Maria Zarghanis,
daughter of a Greek politician from Syros,
Greece, and had six children. The three sons
all entered the beauty industry.
The Marengo Brothers
The Marengo Brothers – Jojo, Jean
Claude and Antoine – are cosmetologists,
estheticians, designers, authors and
publishers. They were marketed in Europe as
the image-makers of royalty. They arrived in
the United States with Queen Fredericka of
Greece. Jojo accepted an offer from Saks
Fifth Avenue in New York City to take on the
position of artistic director. Saks built Jojo his
own private styling suite where he received
Diane Vreeland, then senior editor of Vogue, The Duchess of Windsor, Mrs. Senator Jacob
Javits, Princess Pignatelli and other women
leaders of the time. Antoine accepted the
position of artistic director for Elizabeth
Arden on Fifth Avenue and Jean Claude
replaced Kenneth at Lilli Dache, the famed
millinery designer.
Together and simultaneously, the three
brothers were the art directors of the three
most famous fashion names in the country.
Leaving New York for Beverly Hills, Jojo
and his brothers were soon recognized as the
originators of what is known today as the “Day
Spa.” The Marengo Institute in Beverly Hills
was the first establishment in the United
States that offered services never before
available in one facility. Built in 1965, the spa
consisted of a skin care center, body
rejuvenation division, self-realization department,
implantation facility, yoga studio and hair salon.
Their clientele consisted of the who’s who in
the social scene and the movie industry.
The New Generation
 Monique Marengo, daughter of Jojo and
Cherie Marengo, is one of those people who
knows what she wants, and doesn’t quit until
she gets it. A Beverly Hills native, she spent
most of her youth interning at her family
business, the Marengo Institute.
Together with her father, Monique
founded the Art & Fashion Group to bring
together the brightest minds in the beauty and
fashion business. Monique led the group as its
Executive Director, overseeing activities in
thirty-five countries. She became the youngest
person and first female to direct an
international beauty organization, whose
members include such luminaries as Vidal
Sassoon and Isaac Mizrahi. She produced and
coordinated over 1,000 educational activities a
year for the Group and was the producer of
the largest show in the beauty industry, held in
Rimini, Italy.
 During her tenure as the A&FG Executive
Director Monique targeted the female
executives in the beauty and fashion
professionals and founded Women in
Leadership League (W.I.L.L.), a national
organization of professional women that deals
with the personal and career advancements of
its members.
She also conceived and developed Hair &
Fashion Magazine where she acted as the
Editor-in-Chief. Hair & Fashion quickly became
the voice of rofessionals in the artistic world.
“With the exception of a three year foray
into advertising, I have immersed myself in the
family business,” says Monique, who during
that time became Art Director and Studio
Manager of FCB Southern California. FCB is
the third largest advertising agency in the
United States and eighth largest in the world.
“But then I rejoined the family where I can use
my talents more effectively.”
Monique’s international connections,
together with her global thinking, will take the
operation internationally in the coming years.
This year she goes to Paris to open an office
for the Marengo Institute. “The office will be an
expeditionary project to study the European
market more closely as eventually the
Marengo Institute will expand to Europe.”
Besides knowing what she wants for
herself, Monique also knows what other
women want – pampering. With that in mind,
the Marengo Institute fashioned a unique
spot in Central Ohio, where women can
indulge in head-to-toe relaxation and physical
enhancement. The first spa to reflect the
Marengo’s highly designed pampering
concept opened in Columbus, Ohio in March
2002. Monique is the company’s President
and is currently running the Columbus
operation.
 Her brother, Antoine Marengo, is the
youngest of the family, and the most recent
addition to this growing family business.
Born in Beverly Hills, Antoine’s first love
is music. He’s a composer, producer and
multi-instrument player, and founder of
Body/Mind Music.
His company produces movie scores and
many music CDs including “Transcend” used
in spas worldwide. Antoine is the Executive
Vice President of the Marengo Family Holding
Company and President of the Marengo
Institute’s hotel division. He is developing the
management and growth of the Westin Hotel
Group as well as other hotel chains.
Antoine, whose background is in the
hospitability industry – including an 8-year run
with Hyatt Regency in Hawaii and Irvine,
California – is in the perfect position to administer the family’s hotel spas division. The
Westin Hotel Group puts the Marengos in the
highly coveted destination spa arena. “Every
hotel that wants to keep its four diamond or
four star category needs to put a spa on their
property,” says Antoine. “There are not
enough international spa operators who
understand the hotel business, and this gives
us the opportunity to open many hotel
locations in the world. It’s all very exciting.”
Antoine’s approach to the guests of the
spa is demonstrative of his background in the
hotel business. “When they’re here, we want
them to forget about their other life
requirements,” he says. “We try to put them
immediately at ease, so they don’t have that
tension. We just want them to indulge in
feeling pampered.” |
