Maltese architecture has its origins in prehistory, and some of the oldest free-standing structures on Earth – a series of megalithic temples – can be found on Malta. The islands were colonized by the Phoenicians and later the Romans, who established the cities of Melite and Gaulos. Although these were substantial settlements and are known to have had numerous temples, churches and palaces, few remains have survived apart from some architectural fragments.
Republic Square is a piazza in Valletta, Malta. The square was originally called Piazza Tesoreria or Piazza dei Cavallieri, since the treasury of the Order of Saint John was located in the square. After a statue of Queen Victoria was installed in the square in the 19th century, it became known as Queen's Square or Piazza Regina. Although its official name is Republic Square, it is still commonly referred to as Piazza Regina.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, commonly known as St Paul's Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece.
Mariano Gerada (1766–1823) was a Maltese sculptor.
The Wignacourt Aqueduct is a 17th-century aqueduct in Malta, which was built by the Order of Saint John to carry water from springs in Dingli and Rabat to the newly built capital city Valletta. The aqueduct was carried through underground pipes and over arched viaducts across depressions in the ground.
Antonio Ferramolino was a 16th-century Italian architect and military engineer. He is also known as Sferrandino da Bergamo, and is called Hernan Molin in Spanish sources. He is mostly known for his work in Sicily, but he also designed fortifications in Ragusa and Malta.
Melite or Melita was an ancient city located on the site of present-day Mdina and Rabat, Malta. It started out as a Bronze Age settlement, which developed into a city called Maleth under the Phoenicians, and became the administrative centre of the island. The city fell to the Roman Republic in 218 BC, and it remained part of the Roman and later the Byzantine Empire until 870 AD, when it was captured and destroyed by the Aghlabids. The city was then rebuilt and renamed Medina, giving rise to the present name Mdina. It remained Malta's capital city until 1530.
Canon Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis, often called de Soldanis, was a Maltese linguist, historian and cleric from the island of Gozo. He wrote the first lexicon and systematic grammar of the Maltese language, and he was the first librarian of the Bibliotheca Publica, the precursor of the National Library of Malta.
Vincent Apap, OBE was a Maltese sculptor who is well known for designing various public monuments and church statues, most notably the Triton Fountain in Valletta. He has been called "one of Malta's foremost sculptors of the Modern Period" by the studio of Renzo Piano.
The Casino Notabile, formerly also known as Point de Vue, is a former clubhouse located at Saqqajja Hill, outside the walls of Mdina, Malta. It is a small, ornate building, which was built in around 1887–88 to designs of Webster Paulson. It was in a dilapidated state and in danger of collapsing until being restored in 2016.
Webster Paulson was an English civil engineer who is known for his work in Malta in the late 19th century.
The Great Siege Monument, also known as the Monument to the Fallen of the Great Siege, is a monument commemorating the Great Siege of Malta located in Valletta, Malta. It consists of three bronze figures symbolizing Faith, Fortitude, and Civilization, standing on top of a granite base. The monument is the work of the sculptor Antonio Sciortino, and it was inaugurated on 8 May 1927.
Vincenzo Dimech was a Maltese sculptor. He is best known for his religious sculptures, which include the titular statues of Gudja and Floriana. He also sculpted monuments or architectural features in Valletta and Corfu.
Pietro Paolo Troisi was a Maltese Baroque silversmith, sculptor, medallist, designer, engraver and Master of the Mint. His works include bronze sculptures of his patron António Manoel de Vilhena, designs of various coins and medals, a wide range of mainly religious works in silver, engraved portraits, designs for temporary triumphal arches and designs for works in a number of churches, most notably the altar of repose at the Mdina cathedral.
Les Gavroches is a bronze sculpture by Antonio Sciortino, depicting Parisian street children inspired by Gavroche from the 1862 Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables. The statue was cast in 1904, and for most of the 20th century it was displayed at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta. In 2000, the statue was restored and transferred to the National Museum of Fine Arts in the same city, and a replica was placed at the Upper Barrakka.
The 1813–1814 Malta plague epidemic was the last major outbreak of plague on the islands of Malta and Gozo. It occurred between March 1813 and January 1814 on Malta and between February and May 1814 on Gozo, and the epidemic was officially declared to be over in September 1814. It resulted in approximately 4500 deaths, which was about 5% of the islands' population.
A statue of Queen Victoria stands in front of the National Library of Malta in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. Sculpted out of marble by the Sicilian artist Giuseppe Valenti, the statue depicts the Queen sitting down and wearing a shawl of Maltese lace. It was installed in the square on 5 August 1891, replacing a bronze statue of António Manoel de Vilhena.
The statue of António Manoel de Vilhena is a life-sized Baroque bronze statue of António Manoel de Vilhena, a Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of St John. Commissioned in 1734 by the knight Felician de Savasse, it was sculpted by Pietro Paolo Troisi and cast by Aloisio Bouchut. In 1736 it was installed at Fort Manoel in Malta, and it was subsequently relocated a number of times. It was moved to Piazza Tesoreria in Valletta in 1858, to the entrance of The Mall gardens in Floriana in 1891, and to its present location at Pope John XXIII Square in Floriana in 1989.
Carm Lino Spiteri, also known by his nickname Iċ-Ċumpaqq, was a Maltese architect and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives with the Nationalist Party between 1971 and 1987, and again between 1992 and 1996.
Francesco Buonamici (1596–1677) was an Italian Baroque architect, painter and engraver who was active in Lucca, Malta, Sicily and Rome during the 17th century. He played a significant role in the introduction of Baroque in Malta.
