Forni della Signoria | |
---|---|
Bakery of the Order | |
General information | |
Status | Demolished |
Type | Bakehouse |
Architectural style | Mannerism |
Location | Valletta, Malta |
Coordinates | 35°53′53″N14°30′39″E / 35.89806°N 14.51083°E |
Completed | c. 1583–1584 |
Demolished | 1926 |
Owner | Treasury of the Order (1580s–1798) French Republic (1798–1800) British Government (1814–1921) Maltese Government (1921–1926) |
Technical details | |
Material | Limestone |
Floor count | 3 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Girolamo Cassar |
The Forni della Signoria (Maltese : L-Ifran tas-Sinjurija; [1] English: Bakeries of the Grandmaster) was a bakehouse in Valletta, Malta. It was constructed in the late 16th century by the Order of St John, and it consisted of a number of bakeries which produced bread for the inhabitants of Valletta and the surrounding area, as well as for the Order's garrison and navy.
It remained in use by the French and later the British militaries, until a new Royal Naval Bakery was opened in Birgu in 1845. The bakery was subsequently converted into stores, before falling into disrepair. The building was demolished in the early 20th century to make way for the Vincenti Buildings. The bakery gave its name to Old Bakery Street, one of the main streets of Valletta.
The first prominent bakeries for the Order were built in Birgu in 1545. [2] In 1566 Architect Francesco Laparelli designed a plan for a new city, Valletta, where all public and prominent buildings were to be in a reserved area. Among these buildings were the Forni della Sacra Religione. [3] [4]
Small individual bakeries were first built on site, which had existed since the 1570s. [5] These bakeries were built during the magistracy of Grand Master Jean de la Cassière at his own expense, and were known in Italian as the Forni pubblici della religione (Public Bakeries of the Religion). [6] [7] The bakeries were among the first erected buildings in Valletta. [8] According to Leonard Mahoney (1988), similar to the first buildings of Valletta, these bakeries were built for convenience of the first wave of workers and migrants rather than keeping also in mind the aesthetic appeal of architecture. Thus, these bakeries can be considered to have had a vernacular architecture to a certain extent. [9]
The reserved area, generally known as the collachio, was toyed about for years and was eventually abandoned as it proved not practical for business, administration and the rest of inhabitants of the city. [4] [10] [11] However, more or less, the mentioned buildings occupied the designated area. [3]
The Order's bakery was being planned by 1582 [12] and an engraving by Matteo Perez d’Aleccio of Valletta including the planned bakery was drawn up that year. The building was marked as Il Forno d.la Signoria et l’Armaria, meaning part of the building had to also include an armoury to serve in case of a siege. [13] This also because it was mainly intended to serve the military. [14] It was eventually built in around 1583 [15] or 1584, during the magistracy of Grand Master Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle. [8] The building was designed by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, [16] [17] who also designed many other buildings in Valletta. [18] As planned, the building was used primarily for the making of bread, while another part of the edifice was used as an armoury or ferreria. [8] Other food products from similar ingredients of bread, such as biscuits, were also made. [19] In the 17th century a mill room was added to the building. [20]
The building was property of the Treasury of the Order, and under the responsibility of the Castellan. [21] The building was rented, each part to different owners, however was administered by one person known as Commendatore dei Forni (Bakeries’ Commander). The owners were to sell bread at an established price. [6] The bakery produced most of the bread for the inhabitants of Valletta and Floriana, as well as for the Order's hospital, prison, galleys and garrison. [6] [22] [23]
Some of the expenses for the operation of the bakery were relieved as a number of slaves were engaged in forced unpaid labour. [24] Only trusted slaves were allowed to work at the bakery. However, after the revolt of the slaves during the magistry of Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, none of the slaves were trusted in important buildings such as the bakery which provided traditional everyday food. [25] The incident followed by a shortage of bakers in Valletta that villages bakers were ordered to do so on site and those who refused to bake bread in the city were jailed by the Castellania for a roughly a week. [26] [27]
During the French occupation of Malta, the bakery was used to produce bread for the French garrison, and it was heavily guarded during the blockade of 1798–1800. [28] At this point, the street where the bakery was located, originally called Strada San Giovanni Battista, [29] was renamed Rue des Fours after the bakery. [30] It was later known as Strada Forni in Italian during the early British period, [29] and since 1926 it has been called Old Bakery Street. It is known as Triq il-Fran or Triq l-Ifran in Maltese, but it is still commonly called Strada Forni by Valletta residents. [31] [32] This means that the bakery gives the name to a main street in the capital Valletta. [8]
At some point, during the British period, the building became known as the Forni Regii [8] or the Majesty’s Bakery. [33] It was also known as The King’s Bakery. In 1824 the upper floor, which housed the armoury, was handed over to the British military. [6] The bakery remained in use throughout the early 19th century, supplying bread to the British military. [34] The British Army prominently used it as a colonial department, which stored and supplied food for the troops stationed in Malta, better known as the Commissariat. [35] The British also used it for the grinding of corn. [29]
It fell out of use when the Royal Naval Bakery was opened in Birgu in 1845. [36] It was initially used as stores, but the building fell into a state of disrepair. An English boy is said to have died when part of the building collapsed while he was playing there. [37]
The bakery was demolished in 1926. [16] The Times of Malta published an article accompanied with a photo to inform the general public that the bakery was demolished and not destroyed by war. [35] The newspaper stated: [35]
No! this building has not suffered from an aerial bombardment; it is the Knights' Bakery in Old Bakery Street that is in the process of demolition to make way for a better and more imposing building.
In the mid-1930s the site was purchased by the architect Gustavo R. Vincenti. [35] [38] He raised a Modernism (Art Nouveau [5] [39] or simply an Art Deco [40] ) block, known as Vincenti Buildings after its architect [35] in 1938. [41] Vincenti Buildings were damaged during WWII but were faithfully repaired to the original design. [35] [42] [43] Some of the residences have been converted into offices. [5]
In March 2010, Enemalta workers uncovered remains of the bakery's foundations during paving works in Strait Street. [5] The remains consist of sections of a wall up to four courses high and laid on bedrock. [28] Other remains were also found at Melita Street across Old Bakery Street. [44] A detailed wooden model of the bakery, probably dating back to the British period, is found at the Heritage Malta reserve collection at the Inquisitor's Palace in Birgu. [37] [45]
The bakery of the Order was located on a city block bordered by Old Bakery, Melita, St. John and Strait streets. [46] [5] [33] Its main façade was in Old Bakery Street facing the Church of St. Augustine, [22] [23] and it consisted of a central bay with two sloped roofs, with three-storey high sections on either side. [37] It had imposing corners, typical of Architect Cassar, [17] which were characterised by large rusticated pilasters to support the massive building. [46]
The façade was asymmetric and had no moulding. [46] It contained two main doorways, but there were other entrances in Strait Street. [37] The exterior was plain, contrasting with other Valletta buildings, however this was typical when built. Though the exterior may not have had any aesthetically pleasing features, the interior was spacious and adequate for its purpose. [34] Similar to other prominent buildings, the bakery was provided with water from the Wignacourt Aqueduct. [47] [48] The building did not suffer damage during the 1693 Sicily earthquake though, as documented, the surrounding buildings did. [49]
bakery.
St John's Co-Cathedral is a Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of Saint John.
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death.
A langue or tongue was an administrative division of the Knights Hospitaller between 1319 and 1798. The term referred to a rough ethno-linguistic division of the geographical distribution of the Order's members and possessions. Each langue was subdivided into Priories or Grand Priories, Bailiwicks and Commanderies. Each langue had an auberge as its headquarters, some of which still survive in Rhodes, Birgu and Valletta.
The Royal Opera House, also known as the Royal Theatre, was an opera house and performing arts venue in Valletta, Malta. It was designed by the English architect Edward Middleton Barry and was erected in 1866. In 1873 its interior was extensively damaged by fire but was eventually restored by 1877. The theatre received a direct hit from aerial bombing in 1942 during World War II. Prior to its destruction, it was one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in Valletta. After several abandoned plans to rebuild the theatre, the ruins were redesigned by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and in 2013 it once again started functioning as a performance venue, called Pjazza Teatru Rjal.
The Grandmaster's Palace, officially known as The Palace, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built between the 16th and 18th centuries as the palace of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, who ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798, and was also known as the Magisterial Palace. When the knights were expelled by Napoleonic France, it became the National Palace. During the period of British rule beginning in 1800, it was the Governor's Palace.
The Castellania, also known as the Castellania Palace, is a former courthouse and prison in Valletta, Malta that currently houses the country's health ministry. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1757 and 1760, on the site of an earlier courthouse which had been built in 1572.
The Inquisitor's Palace, also known as the Sacred Palace, is a palace in Birgu, Malta. It was the seat of the Maltese Inquisition from 1574 to 1798, under the name Palazzo del Sant'Officio. The building was originally constructed as a courthouse known as the Castellania in the early 16th century, but little remains of the original building due to major alterations and renovations carried out in the subsequent centuries.
Francesco Laparelli da Cortona was an Italian architect. He was an assistant of Michelangelo, and later was sent by the Pope to supervise the construction of Valletta in Malta.
Auberge d'Allemagne was an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built between 1571 and 1575 to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Germany.
Auberge de France refers to two auberges in Valletta, Malta. They were both built in the 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of France, which induced the entire Kingdom of France except for Auvergne and Provence which were separate langues.
The Auberge d'Auvergne was an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built in the 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Auvergne. It became a courthouse in the 19th century, and it remained so until it was destroyed by aerial bombardment in 1941. The site is now occupied by the Courts of Justice building, which was constructed in the 1960s.
Girolamo Cassar was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He was the resident engineer of the Order of St. John, and was admitted into the Order in 1567. He was involved in the construction of Valletta, initially as an assistant to Francesco Laparelli, before taking over the project himself. He designed many public, religious and private buildings in the new capital city, including Saint John's Co-Cathedral, the Grandmaster's Palace and the auberges. He was the father of Vittorio Cassar, another architect and engineer.
Auberge d'Angleterre is an auberge in Birgu, Malta. It was built around 1534 to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of England. It now houses a health centre, and is the best-preserved Hospitaller auberge in Birgu.
The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta to rebel, assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and take over the island. The revolt was to have taken place on 29 June 1749, but plans were leaked to the order before it began; the plotters were arrested and most were later executed.
The Casa del Commun Tesoro, or Casa dei Conti del Tesoro, is a building in Valletta, Malta, located in Republic Square facing the Bibliotheca. It was originally built to house the Treasury of the Order of St. John. Part of the building housed Malta's first post office, and over the years it was also used as government offices, a hotel and a cinema. Since the early 20th century, it has been the premises of a gentlemen's club known as the Casino Maltese.
The Monte di Pietà, formerly known as the Monte di Sant'Anna, is a charitable institution which lends money to those in need at modest interest rates, on the security of gold, silver or other precious articles given in pawn. In Malta the institution was set up in 1598, was known in the British period as the Public Pawn-Brokery, and it is still in operation today as part of the Inland Revenue Department. Since 1773, the Monte di Pietà has been housed in a 16th-century building in Valletta.
The Slaves' Prison officially known as the Grand Prison and colloquially as the bagnio, was a prison in Valletta, Malta. It was established in the late 16th century, and remained in use as a prison throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It was subsequently used as a naval hospital, a school and an examination hall. It was bombed in World War II, and the ruins were demolished to make way for a block of flats.
Maltese Baroque architecture is the form of Baroque architecture that developed in Malta during the 17th and 18th centuries, when the islands were under the rule of the Order of St. John. The Baroque style was introduced in Malta in the early 17th century, possibly by the Bolognese engineer Bontadino de Bontadini during the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct. The style became popular in the mid to late 17th century, and it reached its peak during the 18th century, when monumental Baroque structures such as Auberge de Castille were constructed.
Gustavo Romeo Vincenti was a Maltese architect and developer. Born into a wealthy and business oriented family in Valletta and Floriana, he was able to purchase land and design and build buildings which he would then sell to clients. He was interested in architecture from a young age, and he graduated as an architect from the University of Malta in 1911, at the age of 23.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)