Gustavo Romeo Vincenti (26 August 1888 – 25 April 1974) was a Maltese architect and developer. Born into a wealthy and business oriented family in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

and

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

, he was able to purchase land and design and build buildings which he would then sell to clients. He was interested in architecture from a young age, and he graduated as an architect from the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

in 1911, at the age of 23. His early works show inspiration from Art Nouveau,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

and

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

, interpreted in an economic but elegant way. His facades include horizontal and vertical elements which create a geometric and rigid feel to the buildings, while maintaining an element of flow. His early works include some terraced houses in

Sliema Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the most densely po ...

, many of which still exist. Other buildings include the Italian embassy, an apartment block and some houses in the vicinity of the King George V Gardens in

. His most significant project was the Vincenti Buildings in

, a large block of apartments constructed in the 1930s occupying an entire city block on the site of the former ''

Forni della Signoria The ''Forni della Signoria'' ( mt, L-Ifran tas-Sinjurija; en, Bakeries of the Grandmaster) 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 p ...

''. Some of his buildings are more

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, showing influences from

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. These include a complex of four houses in

Ta' Xbiex Ta' Xbiex () is a locality and Local Council in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 2148 (estimated 2019) It is part of a small headland within the Marsamxett Harbour, right between the villages of Msida and Gżira. Etymology It ...

built in 1936, collectively also known as Vincenti Buildings, with each of the houses being named after one of the Four Evangelists. Modernism is also evident in his personal villa, Palazzina Vincenti, in St Julian's, which was inhabited by his son Hilaire Vincenti, who died in 2019 at 92. According to

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...

, Vincenti

was a great exponent of Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture in Malta. In the 1920s and 30s he purchased lands and built houses. Some of his best creations are on Dingli Street in an Italian
Liberty style Liberty style ( it, Stile Liberty) was the Italian variant of Art Nouveau, which flourished between about 1890 and 1914. It was also sometimes known as ''stile floreale'', ''arte nuova'', or ''stile moderno''. It took its name from Arthur Lasenby ...
with floral frieze designs, such as the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
double-fronted two-storey townhouse ‘Assisi’ with columned and fanlight entrance together with wooden balcony flanked by simply designed balcony railings. No 10 next door, is of particular interest and architectural uniqueness. the road stands a row of distinctly Art Deco design which is immediately recognizable as being Vincenti, who engaged a geometrically pure and abstract form of ornamentation. service offices. Other designs were houses in Melita Street, Amery Street with art nouveau designs, and Napoleon Flats on Prince of Wales Road.Sliema's Built Heritage
FAA

File:Vincenti Buildings.jpeg, Vincenti Buildings in

, built by Vincenti on the site of the ''

'' File:Vincenti_Buildings,_Ta%27_Xbiex_(1).jpg, Vincenti Buildings in

(1936) File:Palazzina_Vincenti_06_(cropped).jpg, Palazzina Vincenti in

Balluta Bay Balluta Bay is a bay on the northeast coast of Malta within St. Julian's. It is a popular recreation spot used for swimming, diving, and water sports, with a triangular ''pjazza'' surrounded by cafés and shaded by Judas trees. Its skyline is ...

File:Palazzina Vincenti (3).jpg, Palazzina Vincenti

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincenti, Gustavo Romeo 1888 births 1974 deaths People from Valletta University of Malta alumni 20th-century Maltese architects Art Nouveau architects Art Deco architects Modernist architects Real estate and property developers 20th-century Maltese businesspeople