Hostel de Verdelin | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Palazzo Verdelin Casa delle Colombe |
General information | |
Status | Intact |
Type | Palace |
Architectural style | Siculo-Spanish Baroque [1] |
Location | Valletta, Malta |
Address | Nos. 108–114 Archbishop Street [2] |
Coordinates | 35°53′58.1″N14°30′50.4″E / 35.899472°N 14.514000°E |
Current tenants | Police Department |
Named for | Jean-Jacques de Verdelin |
Completed | c. 1650s or 1660s |
Owner | 12 private owners |
Technical details | |
Material | Limestone |
Floor count | 2 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Francesco Buonamici (attributed) |
The Hostel de Verdelin, also known as Palazzo Verdelin or the Casa delle Colombe, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built in the mid-17th century for the knight Jean-Jacques de Verdelin, and it is an early example of Baroque architecture in Malta. The palace currently houses a police station and a restaurant.
The Hostel de Verdelin was built in around the 1650s [3] (some sources claim it was built in the 1660s, [4] such as 1662 [5] or 1666, [6] but in 1662 the premises were already handed over to Paul de Verdelin from the original owner [7] ) for Jean-Jacques de Verdelin, a French knight of the Order of St. John who was the nephew of Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle [4] and who held a number of important positions, including Commander of the Artillery, Auditor of Accounts and Grand Commander. [3] The palace is attributed to the Italian architect Francesco Buonamici, who is sometimes credited for introducing Baroque architecture in Malta. [3]
Following Verdelin's death in 1678, the palace was inherited by his brother Jean-François de Verdelin, who was also a knight. It subsequently became property of the Order, and it was used as a hostel. It was transferred to the government during the French occupation of Malta in 1798, [8] and at this point, two coats of arms on the façade were defaced. [9]
The prominent part of the building seen from St George Square housed the Vicary's Hotel during the British period, which was one of the first hotels in Malta. [10] The building subsequently housed the Civil Service Sports Club. [11] [12] For some years it hosted the Circle known as La Giovane Malta. [13]
The other part of the building was leased to the government in 1962. Before that, it had housed the Banco di Roma and the Malta Government Savings Bank. It was then converted into a police station. [14]
The building's façade was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. [15]
The palace currently belongs to 12 private owners, including Marco Gaffarena, the heirs of Antonio Zammit and the firm B. Tagliaferro and Sons Ltd. The owners have been demanding that the property be vacated since October 2014. [16] Part of the building housed a restaurant called Michael's for a period of about two years around 2014. [11] It now houses a restaurant named Gracy's. [17]
During the Gaffarena scandal in 2015, journalist Caroline Muscat revealed [18] that the government gave Gaffarena €1.65 million in land and cash for his part ownership of another palace in Valletta, the opposition accused the government that it also intended to expropriate the Hotel de Verdelin. These claims were denied by home affairs minister Carmelo Abela, [16] although it was later revealed that the Land Department had sent architects to draw up a valuation report of the palace between February and April 2015. [19]
The palace is scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. [8] It was restored between September and December 2017. [20]
The Hostel de Verdelin is an early example of Baroque architecture in Malta. [21] Its ornate façade has significant influences from the Spanish Baroque style, which is unusual in Malta, where Italian and French Baroque are more common. [8] Its façade is said to be one of the finest in Valletta [22] and described as being an impressive example of artistic fabric in urban Malta. [23] The ornate windows are the centerpiece of the façade. [24] In the 19th century, during the British period, closed timber balconies replaced earlier structure [4] that originally consisted of stone balconies. [25] An artistic interpretation of de Verdelin in form of a painting is found within the building. [26] The palace is the largest of three adjacent buildings which belonged to Verdelin. [7]
Casa Rocca Piccola is a 16th-century palace in Malta, and home of the noble Maltese family de Piro. It is situated in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. There are daily tours from 10am till 5pm. The palace includes a restaurant called La Giara Restaurant.
António Manoel de Vilhena was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Masters, he was benevolent and popular with the Maltese people. Vilhena is mostly remembered for the founding of Floriana, the construction of Fort Manoel and the Manoel Theatre, and the renovation of the city of Mdina.
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death.
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.
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.
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.
This page list topics related to Malta.
The Auberge de Bavière is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built as Palazzo Carneiro in 1696, and it was the residence of Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari in the early 18th century. In 1784, it was converted into the auberge for the Anglo-Bavarian langue of the Order of Saint John, and it remained so until the French occupation of Malta in 1798.
The Auberge d'Italie is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built at various stages in the late 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Italy, and it originally had a Mannerist design by Girolamo Cassar and several other architects. The building continued to be modified throughout the course of the 17th century, with the last major renovation being carried out in the 1680s during the magistracy of Gregorio Carafa, giving the building a Baroque character.
Spinola Palace, also known as Spinola House and Villa Spinola, is a palace in St. Julian's, Malta. It was built in the 17th century by Fra Paolo Rafel Spinola, a knight of the Order of St. John, and was enlarged in the 18th century. The later construction was designed by Romano Carapecchia, which is considered a masterpiece, with its back having an elegant clock that is a unique feature to secular Baroque architecture in Malta.
Palazzo Parisio, sometimes known as Casa Parisio, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built in the 1740s by Domenico Sceberras, and eventually passed into the hands of the Muscati and Parisio Muscati families. It was Napoleon's residence for six days in June 1798, during the early days of the French occupation of Malta. The palace was eventually acquired by the de Piro family, and was later purchased by the Government of Malta. It was used as the General Post Office from 1886 to 1973, then the Ministry for Agriculture, and it now houses the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Palazzo Parisio, formerly known as Scicluna Palace, Palazzo Scicluna, and officially Palazzo Parisio and Gardens, is a 20th-century palace in Naxxar, Malta. On site was a hunting lodge built in 1733 by Paolo Parisio, and was used as a summer or permanent residence, barracks and a college, before being acquired by the Marquis Scicluna in 1898.
The Banca Giuratale, formerly also known as Banca dei Giurati, the Municipal Palace, the Palazzo della Città, Casa Città and the Consolato del Mare, is a public building in Valletta, Malta. It was built in the 18th century to house the city's administrative council, and it was subsequently used as the General Post Office and the Public Registry. The Banca Giuratale now houses the Ministry for the Economy,Enterprise and Strategic Projects, and it is officially known as Palazzo Zondadari.
Admiralty House, formerly known as Casa Miari, Palazzo Don Raimondo and by several other names, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was originally built in 1569–70 as two private houses by Fra Jean de Soubiran dit Arafat, a knight of the Order of St. John. The houses were later leased to various owners, including Fra Raimondo de Sousa y Silva, who rebuilt them a single residence between 1761 and 1763.
Andrea Belli was a Maltese architect and businessman. He designed several Baroque buildings, including Auberge de Castille in Valletta, which is now the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.
The Forni della Signoria 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.
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.
Giuseppe Bonici (1707–1779) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He held the post of Capomastro delle Opere della Religione and was the principal architect of the Order of St. John from 1761 until his death. He designed several notable buildings; his masterpiece was the Customs House in Valletta.
The Old University Building, also known as the Valletta Campus, is the original campus of the University of Malta, located adjacent to the Church of the Jesuits in Valletta, Malta. Construction of the building began in 1595, and it originally housed a Jesuit college known as the Collegium Melitense Societatis Jesu. The building had to be repaired after being damaged in an explosion in 1634 and an earthquake in 1693.
Media related to Hostel de Verdelin at Wikimedia Commons