Auberge de France ( mt, Berġa ta' Franza) is an auberge in

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

Malta 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 ...

. It was built in around 1533 (incorporating an earlier building) to house knights of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

from the langue of France, which induced the entire

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

except for

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

and

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

which were separate langues. The building housed the French langue until a new Auberge de France was opened in

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 wa ...

. The building was subsequently sold, and it remained in private hands in the subsequent centuries, at times being informally known as ''il-Palazz tal-Miljunarju'' (The Palace of the Millionaire). In the 19th and 20th centuries, the building was used for a number of purposes, including as a school, a furniture factory and a museum. It is now Birgu's city hall, being the seat of the local council.

History

Auberge de France was built in around 1533, incorporating an earlier structure. The first alterations that converted the original building into an auberge are attributed to Nicolò Flavari, the Order's architect who had accompanied them after the fall of Rhodes. Further alterations including redesigning the façade were made later on by Bartolommeo Genga. The auberge was located within Birgu's ''collachio'', adjacent to

Auberge d'Auvergne et Provence Auberge d'Auvergne et Provence ( mt, Berġa ta' Alvernja u Provenza) is an auberge in Birgu, Malta. It was built to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langues of Auvergne and Provence. Auberge d'Auvergne et Provence was built i ...

and

Auberge d'Aragon The Auberge d'Aragon ( mt, Berġa ta' Aragona) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built in 1571 to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Aragon, Navarre and Catalonia. It is the only surviving auberge in Vall ...

. The langue of France moved to a larger auberge in the new capital

in around 1571, but it also retained the Birgu auberge until 1586. Along with the other auberges in Birgu, the building was subsequently sold to private owners. In the early 19th century, the former auberge was acquired by the rich

Vella Vella is a village and a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Surselva (district), Surselva in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Switzerland, De ...

family, and it became informally known as ''il-Palazz tal-Miljunarju'' (The Palace of the Millionaire). From 1852 to 1918, the building was leased to the government as a primary school. In 1921, Auberge de France was rented to Lorenzo Zammit Naro, and it was converted into a furniture factory. Zammit Naro installed a statuette of Saint Joseph on the portal, but it was later removed. The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925, together with the other auberges in Birgu. The building was acquired by the government in 1938, on the urging of Canon Gian Mari Farrugia and Sir

Harry Luke Sir Harry Charles Luke (born Harry Charles Lukach; 4 December 1884 – 11 May 1969) was an official in the British Colonial Office. He served in Barbados, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Sierra Leone, Mandatory Palestine, Palestine, Malta#British Empir ...

. At this point, an inscription indicating the building's history was installed on the façade. The auberge fell into disuse after

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 opposing ...

, before housing a carpenter's workshop between 1966 and 1978. In 1981, it was opened to the public as a political history museum after some restoration work. The museum was unsuccessful, and it closed down in 1987. The building fell into disrepair once again, and the ceiling was renovated in 1990 after sustaining rainwater damage. The auberge was retained by the Museums Department, and plans to convert it into a Museum of the Maltese Language never materialized. The building was subsequently occasionally used for cultural events. The auberge was passed to

Heritage Malta Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department. Or ...

in 2010, before being restored and subsequently rented to the Birgu Local Council in 2012. The seat of the local council was transferred to the auberge, which now serves as Birgu's city hall. Auberge de France is the second best-preserved Hospitaller auberge in Birgu, after

Auberge d'Angleterre Auberge is a French word for an inn or hostel, and is also sometimes used to refer to a restaurant (as a result of the historical association between inns and restaurants). It is also the name of a nightclub in Abergavenny and is often mistaken fo ...

. The building was scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument on 22 December 2009, and it is also listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...

Architecture

Auberge de France is built in the Melitan style, based on traditional Maltese architecture, and it has a similar layout as

. It is a two-storey building with rooms built around a central

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

, and it has a symmetrical façade with moulded windows. The ornate main doorway is topped by a wrought iron lattice bearing the

fleur-de-lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

, the symbol of France. The entrance hall and most parts of the building receive natural light from the backyard, and the ground floor is connected to the upper one by a covered staircase. In the middle landing of the staircase there is a carved stone lion, a common feature in palatial buildings at the time. The main hall on the top floor once served as the assembly hall of the Langue. The auberge's basement incorporates parts of an earlier building which previously stood on the site.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Auberges Palaces in Birgu Buildings and structures completed in 1533 Defunct museums in Malta City and town halls in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1533 establishments in Malta