|
Francesco Buonamici (architect)
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. Biography Buonamici was born to Antonio Buonamici and Anna Pistelli in Lucca in 1596. He spent his youth in Rome, where he studied at the Accademia di San Luca. Some details of his life and career are unclear since there are contradictory sources, and he is sometimes referred to as Vincenzo Buonamici. It is possible that he started his career in Rome, but after the plague of 1630–1631 he was active in his hometown Lucca, where he designed the Suffragio church on the site of a cemetery for plague victims. While in Rome in 1634, he painted theatre scenes for the opera ''Il Sant'Alessio''. Through the patronage of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, Buonamici went to Hospitaller Malta in September 1635 as a ''maestro di pennello'' within the entour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one of the Italian's "Città d'arte" (Arts town), thanks to its intact Renaissance-era city walls and its very well preserved historic center, where, among other buildings and monuments, are located the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, which has its origins in the second half of the 1st century A.D. and the Guinigi Tower, a tower that dates from the 1300s. The city is also the birthplace of numerous world-class composers, including Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalani, and Luigi Boccherini. Toponymy By the Romans, Lucca was known as ''Luca''. From more recent and concrete toponymic studies, the name Lucca has references that lead to "sacred wood" (Latin: ''lucus''), "to cut" (Latin: ''lucare'') and "luminous space" (''leuk'', a term used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floriana Lines
The Floriana Lines ( mt, Is-Swar tal-Furjana) are a line of fortifications in Floriana, Malta, which surround the fortifications of Valletta and form the capital city's outer defences. Construction of the lines began in 1636 and they were named after the military engineer who designed them, Pietro Paolo Floriani. The Floriana Lines were modified throughout the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, and they saw use during the French blockade of 1798–1800. Today, the fortifications are still largely intact but rather dilapidated and in need of restoration. The Floriana Lines are considered to be among the most complicated and elaborate of the Hospitaller fortifications of Malta. Since 1998, they have been on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of the ''Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta''. History Background, controversy and construction The city of Valletta was founded on 28 March 1566 by Jean de Valette, the Grand Master of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syracuse, Sicily
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσες, Syrakoúses, . is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the pre-eminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea. It is situated in a drastic rise of land with depths being close to the city offshore although the city itself is generally not so hilly in comparison. The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Francesco Abela
Giovanni Francesco Abela (1582–1655) was a Maltese noble who in the early 17th century wrote an important work on Malta, ''Della Descrittione di Malta isola nel Mare Siciliano: con le sue antichità, ed altre notizie'', "description of Malta, island in the Sicilian sea, with its antiquities, and other information". Abela was born in Valletta to Marco Abela and Benarda Vella whose great great grandfather was Barone di Pietra Lunga and whose ancestors ruled Malta on more than one occasion and were part of the royal family of Spain. Malta illustrated is still an important source of first-hand information on a number of subjects of Melitensia, such as folklore, placenames, the Maltese language, history of Malta and archaeology. His description of the Maltese Islands was translated into Latin by G.A. Seinero in 1725, Latin being the universal language of science and culture of that time. This translation was incorporated in Johann Georg Graevius Thesaurus antiquitatum et histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortifications Of Malta
The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, towers, batteries, redoubts, entrenchments and pillboxes. The fortifications were built over thousands of years, from around 1450 BC to the mid-20th century, and they are a result of the Maltese islands' strategic position and natural harbours, which have made them very desirable for various powers. The earliest known fortifications in Malta are defensive walls built around Bronze Age settlements. The Phoenicians, Romans and Byzantines built a number of defensive walls around important settlements, but very little remains of these survive today. By the late medieval period, the main fortifications on Malta were the capital Mdina, the Cittadella on Gozo, the Castrum Maris and a few coastal towers or lookout posts. The fortifications of Malta were greatly improved while the islands were ruled by the Order of St. John between 1530 and 1798. The Hospitallers built new bastioned fortificatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabat, Malta
Rabat ( mt, Ir-Rabat, ) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to the Republic of Malta is seated in this village. The Local Council of Rabat is also the administrator of Baħrija. Parts of the films ''Munich'' and '' Black Eagle'' were shot in Rabat. In December 1999, Mtarfa was split from Rabat to form a separate Local Council by Act XXI, an amendment to the Local Council Act of 1993 (Act XV). Etymology Rabat is a Semitic word which can mean "fortified town" or "suburb". Catacombs Rabat is home to the famous Catacombs of St. Paul and of St. Agatha. These catacombs were used in Roman times to bury the dead as, according to Roman culture, it was unhygienic to bury the dead in the city. Mdina and parts of Rabat were built on top of the ancie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basilica Of St Paul, Rabat
The Basilica of St Paul is a Roman Catholic Parish church located in Rabat, Malta. History The church is built on part of the site of the Roman city ''Melite'', which included all of Mdina and a large part of present-day Rabat. There were numerous churches built on the site of the present church which dates from the 17th century. In 1336 bishop Hilarius refers to the church as ecclesia Sancti Pauli de crypta, and also mentions the cemetery and the Roman ditch. The present church was built to replace a church which was completed in 1578. The new church was built with funds provided by the noble woman Guzmana Navarra on plans prepared by Francesco Buonamici. The church building commenced in 1653 was completed by Lorenzo Gafà in 1683. Annexed with the church of St Paul is a smaller church dedicated to St Publius which was rebuilt in 1692 and again in 1726 by Salvu Borg. The church was elevated to a Minor Basilica in 2020. The Grotto Entrance to the grotto is through the church of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of St Nicholas, Valletta
The Church of Saint Nicholas ( mt, Il-Knisja ta' San Nikola, el, Εκκλησία του Αγίου Νικολάου, sr, Црква Светог Николе), also known as the Church of All Souls ( mt, Il-Knisja tal-Erwieħ), is a Greek Catholic church in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Originally built as a Greek Orthodox church in 1569, it was conceded to the Confraternity of the Souls in Purgatory in 1639, who rebuilt the church in the Baroque style in 1652. The church was passed back to the Greek Catholic congregation in 2014 however the church is used from Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. History The Church of St. Nicholas was originally built in 1569 as a Byzantine Rite parish church for the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Catholic Church came into existence following the Union of Brest in 1595–96. In 1639, the parish priest Papas Giovanni Metaxi decided to separate from the Orthodox church and join the Greek Catholic Church, and he conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1634 Valletta Explosion
On 12 September 1634, a Hospitaller gunpowder factory in Valletta, Malta accidentally blew up, killing 22 people and causing severe damage to a number of buildings. The factory had been built at some time in the late 16th or early 17th centuries, replacing an earlier one in Fort St. Angelo in Birgu. It was located in the lower part of Valletta, close to the Slaves' Prison. The explosion damaged the nearby Jesuit church and college. The church's façade was rebuilt in around 1647 by the architect Francesco Buonamici, while the damaged parts of the college were also rebuilt after the explosion. The gunpowder factory was not rebuilt. In around 1667, a new factory was constructed in Floriana, far away from any residential areas. This factory was incorporated into the Ospizio complex in the early 18th century. See also *1806 Birgu polverista explosion On 18 July 1806, approximately of gunpowder stored in a magazine (''polverista'') in Birgu, Malta, accidentally detonated. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just , it is the European Union's smallest capital city. Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of The Jesuits, Valletta
The Church of the Circumcision of Our Lord ( mt, Knisja taċ-Ċirkonċiżjoni tal-Mulej), commonly known as the Jesuits' church ( mt, Knisja tal-Ġiżwiti), is one of the oldest churches in Valletta, Malta, and one of the largest in the diocese. It was originally built between 1593 and 1609 by the Jesuit order, and it is located adjacent to the Old University Building, which originally housed a Jesuit college known as the ''Collegium Melitense''. The church was rebuilt in the Baroque style by Francesco Buonamici after suffering extensive damage in an explosion in 1634. The church remained in use after the Jesuits were expelled from Malta in 1768, and it is also used for Masters and Doctoral graduation ceremonies of the University of Malta, the successor to the ''Collegium Melitense''. History Construction of the church began in November 1593, when its foundations were laid down. It formed part of a Jesuit complex occupying an entire city block, which also included the ''Coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malta - Valletta - Triq Il-Merkanti 07 Ies
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others. With a population of about 516,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country in area and fourth most densely populated sovereign co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_01.JPG "Click for more on -> Francesco Buonamici (architect)")
