Main Guard (Valletta)
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The Main Guard, originally called the ''Guardia della Piazza'', is a building 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 ...
,
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 ...
, located in the square facing the Grandmaster's Palace in the city centre. It was originally built as a
guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormi ...
in 1603 by the
Order of St. 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 headqu ...
, and it remained in use after the British took over Malta in 1800. A Neoclassical portico was added in 1814, and a British coat of arms and a commemorative inscription were installed later on above the portico. These have become one of the main symbols of British rule in Malta. The building used to house the Office of the Attorney General.


History

The Main Guard building was built in 1603 to house the ''Regimento di Guardia'', the personal guards of the Grand Master of the
Order of St. 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 headqu ...
. It was built in the square facing the Grandmaster's Palace. The building's original form without the portico is visible in a painting dating back to the
French occupation of Malta The French occupation of Malta lasted from 1798 to 1800. It was established when the Order of Saint John surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in M ...
. In 1814, a neoclassical
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
was added to the Main Guard by the British, during the governorship of Sir Thomas Maitland. Early paintings from the first few years of British rule in Malta show the building with the portico, as well as three
trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
on its roof. Some time later, the trophies were removed, and a relief of the British coat of arms was added above the portico, with the following Latin inscription below it: The portico was designed in the Greek Revival style, hence neoclassic, and is among the first of this design in the country. The design of the portico is attributed either to the Maltese architect
Giorgio Pullicino Giorgio Pullicino (8 July 1779 – 25 October 1851) was a Maltese painter, architect, and professor of drawing and architecture at the University of Malta. He is known for his harbour views painted in a number of media, and he is also consider ...
, or to Colonel George Whitmore of the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
. The sculpted coat of arms was probably the work of
Vincenzo Dimech Vincenzo Dimech (29 June 1768 – 2 February 1831) was a Maltese sculptor. He is best known for his religious sculptures, which include the titular statues of Gudja and Floriana. He also sculpted monuments or architectural features in Valletta a ...
. The portico, coat of arms and inscription are considered to be one of the most iconic symbols of British rule in Malta. The British continued to use the building to house the guards of the
Governor of Malta A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, who resided in the Grandmaster's Palace. Life in the Main Guard was quite boring, and many soldiers painted or carved regimental badges or other things on the walls of the building. In 1851, the original coat of arms and inscription had deteriorated to such an extent that they had to be removed and replaced. The new coat of arms was a replica of the original arms of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, and not that of the then-reigning monarch
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. In 1974, the building was converted into the Libyan Cultural Centre, and the British coat of arms and inscription were covered in a zinc and plywood box bearing an Arabic inscription. The Libyan Cultural Centre moved elsewhere after the change of government in 1987, and the coat of arms was once again uncovered. The Main Guard subsequently became an annex of the Office of the Attorney General until it was eventually transferred to Heritage Malta for restoration. In 2009, the inscription and coat of arms were restored once again as part of the regeneration of St. George's Square, but this resulted in a number of spelling errors within the inscription. In 2015, there were plans to transfer the Valletta Local Council into the Main Guard, but they were never implemented. The building is now under Heritage Malta's wing and is currently undergoing restoration. Once complete, it will serve as an interpretation center for all Heritage Malta sites in the capital city.


Layout

The building's façade has a single floor, but the rear part of the building, which is located in Strait Street, has three floors. This is due to a difference between the levels of the streets.


Further reading


Malta p. 102The Main Guard and Its Murals
* *Bonello, Giovanni (18 June 2010)
The Latin inscription on Main Guard
''
Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...
''.
Valletta – vibrant city of many styles


References

{{Valletta Guardhouses Buildings and structures in Valletta Neoclassical architecture in Malta Government buildings in Malta 1603 establishments in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1603 Buildings and structures completed in 1814