Alberto La Ferla

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Malta's pavilion at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley ">Wembley.html" ;"title="British Empire Exhibition at Wembley">British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Laferla Valletta 1924

Alberto La Ferla (1898-1942) was a Maltese people">Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

architect, active in the 1920s and 1930s. La Ferla graduated in architecture from the University of Malta and continued his studies in Turin. As he deemed Art Nouveau to be a decadent style, he aimed to detach himself from any reference to it. He rather adhered to the new Italian architectural fashion:

monumentalism {{unreferenced, date=March 2020 Monumentalism defines the architectural tendencies that during the first half of the twentieth century had as their essential canon the inspiration and connection to classicism and neoclassicism. Critics divide thi ...

and

Stile Littorio {{refimprove, date=December 2020 Stile Littorio denotes an architectural language developed in Italy in the 1930s and featured in a large number of public buildings commissioned by the Fascist regime until its fall. The emergence of Stile Littor ...

. After graduating, La Ferla worked in the architectural studio of

Enrico Del Debbio Enrico Del Debbio (26 May 1891 – 12 July 1973) was an Italian architect and university professor. Born at Carrara, he studied in the Fine Art Academy there specializing in architecture. He moved to Rome in 1914 where he won several architec ...

in Rome, architect of the

Stadio dei Marmi The Stadio dei Marmi ("Stadium of the Marbles") is one of four stadiums in the colossal sports complex the Foro Italico, initially named Foro Mussolini.Giorio, Maria Beatrice. “La Scultura Fascista Di Soggetto Sportivo Tra Bellezza e Propagan ...

and

Foro Mussolini Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini (literally Mussolini's Forum) under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired by t ...

. In 1924, he designed the Malta's pavilion for the British Empire Exhibition at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, together with G. Caruana. The pavilion was well received at the time, although Mark G. Muscat assesses it as "an agglomeration of past references that were all crammed into a single exhibit". The same year, Laferla took part in the Valletta Lay-Out Competition, being the only Maltese architect receiving an honourable mention. Laferla suggested to demolish the Third Valletta City Gate to replace it with a wider one, "masculine and stern" (“maschia e severa”), in line with the surrounding bastions, to "recall the achievements of the Great Siege and immortalise in stone and marble the glorious Order of the Knights of Malta". He claimed to be inspired in his design by

Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...

’s

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

in the Vatican Gardens. Laferla also suggested a design for the façade fronting Strada Reale to harmonize with the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

and Palazzo Buttigieg-Francia, as well as two tunnel entrances to Valletta, one in line with Strada Forni under

Saint James Cavalier Saint James Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. S ...

, the other in line with Strada Mercanti under

Saint John's Cavalier Saint John's Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġwann) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St. John. It overlooks St. John's Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front ...

. La Ferla practiced in Malta in the 1930s. He authored Casa Beatrice, Sliema, and Cactus House in Triq Manwel Dimech, Sliema (1931), in which he "put classicist order aside, in favour of a forced

", as stated by Mark G. Muscat:

"The façade is designed with the aim of making the two-storeyed terraced house look grand and imposing. It could be noted that the various references to cactus and palm trees in the ironwork are an illusion to the Italian war victories in Africa at the time the house was being built. The oversize columns support a concrete balcony, which La Ferla used frequently in his townhouses; this offered the advantage of omitting the central console bracket. La Ferla's patterns are comparable to the simplified classical forms used in
Stile Littorio {{refimprove, date=December 2020 Stile Littorio denotes an architectural language developed in Italy in the 1930s and featured in a large number of public buildings commissioned by the Fascist regime until its fall. The emergence of Stile Littor ...
buildings throughout Italy. It is not possible to perceive to what extent the client was aware of the undertones of La Ferla's influence of the Stile Littorio, although it was popular in Italy at the time."

La Ferla also designed a '' Casa del Fascio'' for

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

, with "conspicuous Fascist architectural connotations" (never built) as well as Villa Gloria in Ta' Xbiex, in which it is possible to see the elements of

"Villa Gloria in Ta' Xbiex also manifests influence of the Stile Littorio idiom. From a distance the villa looks much like the other villas surrounding it. However, a closer and critical inspection reveals an astute illusion. The columns along the façade are similar to a ''fascio''... Having been built in the 1930s it is at least tempting to consider the possibility that the ''fascio'' was not an accidental inclusion, but an intentional design element of these peculiar columns."

According to Edward Said, La Ferla

"paid special attention to the design of the apertures and wrought iron fittings employing motifs such as the shield-panels on doors and balconies, as well as railings with basic spiralling, which were features of the balcony railings and main door fanlight. These can be seen on a number of his facades along Amery, Milner, Howard and Dingli Streets Sliema">n Sliema He cleverly succeeded in striking symmetry to single-fronted houses as can be seen in his Milner Street and Prince of Wales Road (today Manwel Dimech Street) terraced residences. He also designed the ‘Warrior’ building in Old College Street, built for a Maltese Royal Navy seaman who served on a ship by that name. He also designed ‘Cactus house’ which is situated near the Old College Street bridge crossing Prince of Wales Road up from Balluta, adopting a rectilinear style façade with pillar and symbolic design of the balcony railing and main door fanlight."Sliema's Built Heritage
FAA

At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, La Ferla was interned as an italophile, but instead of being exiled to Uganda he was detained at the St Agatha camp in Rabat. He died there in 1942, victim of an air bomb attack by the Luftwaffe, at the age of 44.Conrad Thake, "Art Nouveau to Modernism, Architecture in Malta 1910-1950", 2021 His son, Renato Laferla was also a well-known architect who pursued modernist designs.

References

External links

ARCHITECTS WHO BUILT SLIEMA – PERIT ALBERTO LA FERLA (1898-1942)
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Ferla, Alberto 1898 births 1942 deaths 20th-century Maltese architects University of Malta alumni Civilians killed in World War II Deaths by German airstrikes during World War II